I have rented an apartment in Zürich (a hotel-room sized studio as you say, though with high quality construction and amenities). it was indeed pretty frustrating to go through the apartment search, but it is possible to rent housing, as evidenced by the fact that millions of Swiss citizens and residents live indoors.
lifestyleguru|17 days ago
Otherwise you are on a fast track from "unable to find housing" to "have to leave the country".