No Limit

But board member Fred Cohn said he was "convinced Harvard has made a bona fide effort to help the city of Cambridge with its housing shortage." He added that the University ought to be awarded the permits because "private higher education is the principal export industry of New England," and that institutions like Harvard had helped the region weather the recent recession.

Another board member, Victoria Judson, said she favor granting at least seven of the ten permits in return for the River-Harvard St. land. "I want to set up a system where we are encouraging them to build low and moderate income housing," she said.

If Harvard comes back to the board seeking similar permits for other buildings, members "will be looking for control and condominium legislation."

Sullivan, the only tenant on the city council, added, "The board's mission is not to be evenhanded. It must decide cases fairly, but its mission is to protect tenants."

Rent board members were unavailable for comment yesterday, but some have said in the past they view the body as more of an impartial, quasi-judicial agency designed more to decide cases brought before it than to actively protect tenants.

Those who would change the "mission" of the board would probably first have to change its membership, observers said yesterday. And for some, like Sullivan, that job could be difficult, since the city charter prohibits elected officials from discussing appointments with the city manager.

But whatever changes are made, they will come too late to help the tenants at 7 Sumner Rd. Several tenant lawyers said privately yesterday they thought it unlikely that the two remaining occupants could win a temporary restraining order allowing them to stay if they appealed the case