One proposal, the Cambridge Condo Buyers Initiative, provides up to $30,000 for low-income Cantabrigians seeking to purchase homes, according to CCD Housing Planner Roger E. Herzog.

Those who do not meet the city's income guidelines are given "technical assistance in the form of advice and information," Herzog says.

The department also funds the Affordable Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program, which extends up to $15,000 in low-interest loans to landlords who agree to set aside part of their buildings for low-income families.

The third city-funded plan is the Non-Profit Acquisition of Multi-Family Property. This program gives a maximum of $50,000 in loans to non-profit organizations which buy and rent property to lower-income families.

Applications for each of the grants are available by contacting CCD, Herzog says.

If landlords provide low-income housing to Cantabrigians for a minimum of 50 years, repayment of the loans will be waived, according to Herzog.

"The key is to get property into the hands of non-profit organizations and have them rent it to lower-income households," he says.

Herzog says he knows of no other programs of this kind in the Boston area.

"Very few cities in the country use their own revenue to fund their own homes," he says.

The pilot programs have been publicized with mass mailings, advertisements and public notices which have been distributed throughout the city.

A significant response has been generated thus far, according to Herzog.

And while the debate on rent control has taken on a new dimension, it show no signs of fading away.