Hello All, desperately need some expat advice.

I moved to Zurich in April to work as a sub contractor in IT for a Swiss bank. When viewing the property that I am currently renting I mentioned that my employment contract had a 4 week notice and that under termination of my work contract, my tenancy would have to effectively follow the same notice period. The guy showing the flat, (not the owner) verbally agreed....

Well, it happened, the Client has terminated my employment and I am now out of contract. How can I terminate my tenancy agreement as I now have no income ?

Depends on what your signed rental contract says, never mind that the guy agreed with you. Usual is 3 months' notice given by registered letter and also usually tied to specific moving dates which are canton specific.

Here in Fribourg the dates are 31st March, 30th June and 30th September. So if I wanted to move out on the 30th September I would need to send a registered letter to reach the agency/landlord no later than 30th June to give the 3 months' notice.

The other possibility is for you to give the required notice, but find another tenant to take over your lease so you could move out before the notice date. Otherwise, you're liable for the outstanding rent.

https://www.ch.ch/en/terminating-rental-agreement/

As mentioned you need to check your contract. Unusually I had a contract that was with 3 months termination , however , was not tied to specific dates (apart from end of month).

If your rental is through an agent they may also know of someone looking who may be willing to take it at shorter notice.

Also look in the wanted ads for anyone in the area looking.

I am sure it is a stressful time for you but the best thing to do is understand where you stand and get the formal notice letter by registered post into your landlord.

As others have said. Read your contract.
By law a shorter notice period than 3 months is only allowed for furnished apartements. Does not mean you can not get to a mutual agreement where some of the rent is waived. But if landlord plays hard you are stuck with that and you have the burden to find a replacement tenant.

Thx for you quick feedback. My contract is a 1 pager that simply states ..Duration 01.06.2014 to 31.05.2015. It has no mention of Notice Period and is a furnished property.

I think I need to personally engage with the landlord to agree that this is an extra ordinary circumstance, other that the deposit that they hold, which I think I will have to forfeit and head off home.

I've only been here since April 7th and have no claim to benefits in either Switzerland or UK.