Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Massachusetts

The answer should be to the question of is this illegal? Massachusetts prohibits rent increases when they are based upon protected activities or violation of contract. A landlord can't increase rent when there is a written contract except at the expiration of the contract and this could be subject to terms in the written contract which limit the landlord's options. The landlord can't increase rent in retaliation for a tenant complaining about the conditions of the property (called retaliatory eviction). The landlord can't increase rent because of a tenant's race, religion, national origin, handicap, etc. However, unless there is a specific prohibition the landlord can raise the rent. Merely raising the rent because the tenant is not in the property frequently is probably permitted.