Cambridge housing activists are set to embark on a campaign to bring back rent control — or, rather, what they bill as a " way to regulate rents, end rent gouging, stop evictions for profit, and to preserve neighborhoods. "

The proposal, drafted by the Committee for a Cambridge Rent Control (CCRC), a coalition of housing activists, tenants, and their supporters, has some familiar features. It calls for the City of Cambridge to establish a five-member board that would set the monthly rent a landlord could charge based on operating costs. Initially, the board would roll back rents to " levels actually charged on September 1, 2002, " according to the proposal. The limits would apply to all apartment buildings except owner-occupied two- and three-family homes, as well as those constructed after February 1999 — the date that the Cambridge City Council declared a housing emergency.

But the new proposal differs significantly from rent control as we know it. Activists have spent the past two years devising language meant to address some of their opponents’ main objections to the old system. Some complained that rent control didn’t recognize the financial hardships of small-property owners. To address this concern, CCRC members have proposed what they call a " hardship exemption. " Small landlords, who own buildings of six units or fewer, could get temporary relief from rent regulation by demonstrating " extreme difficulties, " such as high mortgage payments. Rent-control opponents have also complained that landlords had to pay for a wasteful bureaucracy — i.e., the rent-control board — through their own property taxes. Countering this, the CCRC plan would fund the new board through a surcharge levied on all tenants in the city.

And then, there’s the most celebrated objection of all — that too many tenants who didn’t necessarily need rent control lived in controlled units. Such tenants included former Cambridge mayor Ken Reeves and former Supreme Judicial Court justice Ruth Abrams, not to mention a host of professors, doctors, and businessmen. The proposal aims to prevent such an outcome by implementing an innovative provision. In buildings of 10 apartments or fewer, landlords could exempt one unit from regulation — and thus charge market rates — if they preserve two units for low- and moderate-income residents. (In buildings of 11 units or more, the ratio would be one to three.) This provision would not only help protect those most vulnerable to the housing crisis, but would also turn the tables on landlords. Explains Bill Cavellini, a CCRC member and veteran housing activist, " Landlords would have control over whether or not rich people or low- and moderate-income people were living in their buildings. "

It’s not the first time that activists have tried to resuscitate rent control. Back in 1999, the now-defunct Cambridge Citizens United for Rent Equity attempted to put a pro-rent-control referendum on the local ballot — to no avail. And just last month, their activist counterparts in Boston, with Mayor Tom Menino’s blessing, put a modest plan before the city council — only to be rebuffed. Given these past failures, Cavellini and his CCRC colleagues have worked out an aggressive strategy. First, they’ll present the proposal in upcoming months to the Cambridge City Council. Second, activists intend to collect signatures for a question to appear on the ballot during this fall’s elections. Activists are waging the battle on both fronts because, as Cavellini admits, " We’re just not confident the votes are there at the city-council level. "

Still, Cavellini and his colleagues remain undaunted. The CCRC kicks off its campaign in earnest on January 30, when it hosts a public forum in Central Square. Members will present the new proposal, hear comments from residents, and recruit volunteers for petition drives and lobbying efforts. Cavellini and fellow activists are gearing up for a tough fight. However, they believe that their opponents won’t be able to pick apart the latest incarnation of rent control. As Cavellini puts it, " There’s an attempt to get at criticisms that were legitimate. Aside from ideology, opponents will have a tough time arguing against us " this time.

The Committee for a Cambridge Rent Control will present its rent-control proposal at a public forum on Thursday, January 30, at 7:30 p.m., at the Cambridge Senior Center, 806 Mass Ave, in Central Square. To get involved in the campaign, call the Cambridge Eviction-Free Zone at (617) 354-1300.