Does RECO oversee the home inspector my Ottawa agent recommended?

No. RECO regulates real estate agents and brokerages, and it says plainly: "RECO does not regulate home inspectors." An inspector your agent mentions works outside RECO's oversight.

Ontario passed a Home Inspection Act in 2017, but it has not been brought into force, so there is no provincial licence today. Ontario.ca says that at this time Ontario does not have mandatory requirements for home inspectors. An inspector may belong to a voluntary association such as the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors, which grants the RHI designation to qualified members; that is a membership title, not a licence.

So the checks are yours to make. Ontario.ca suggests asking:

• May I see a copy of the inspection report you use?
• Do you have experience inspecting the type of home that I'm considering?
• Do you have insurance?
• May I see accreditation that shows what kind of training and experience you have?
• Can you provide references?

Ontario.ca also suggests getting quotes from more than one inspector. The federal Office of Consumer Affairs suggests a written contract before the work starts that lists the items to be inspected, the report deadline and the total cost, and asking whether the inspector will apply CSA A770, a voluntary national standard. For other names, it suggests asking your renovator, friends and family for referrals.

RECO's own advice on inspections is about the offer: it calls a home inspection one of the most common conditions in an offer to purchase, and on competing offers it says foregoing one is a significant risk that a buyer needs to carefully consider. How your condition is worded is a question for your agent or lawyer.

Put ontario.ca's five questions to the inspector your agent mentioned, and to at least one other, before you book.