Government surveyors failed to detect major fire risks at a housing complex destroyed in Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades because they were following outdated guidelines that did not require in-person inspections of renovation works, a public inquiry has heard.

The independent committee was told on Monday that illegal alterations to Wang Fuk Court’s emergency passages during the HK$336 million (US$42.9 million) overhaul of the estate’s exterior could have been discovered sooner had...