I recently place a booking fee for renting an apartment unit. Among the conditions I added is for the landlord to install blackout curtains. Other conditions (placed in the draft tenancy agreement) is for the place to be cleaned (it looked kinda dirty) and air-con serviced.

But when I met the agent to sign the tenancy agreement, I found that the blackout curtain was not there and the place was not cleaned and air-con not serviced. The agents gave all sorts of excuses, saying the landlord will do all those things once I've signed and moved in, but I refused to sign and said I'll only sign once the promises are fulfilled.

Problem is, the booking form says the tenancy agreement must be signed within 7 days. Can the agent forfeit my booking fee if I refuse to sign? What actions can I take to recover the fee?

* the agent keeps insisting on cash instead of cheque or wire transfer.
** I've never met or talked to landlord (agent wants to keep her contact secret until after I signed and paid)