diff --git a/smac/acquisition/maximizer/local_search.py b/smac/acquisition/maximizer/local_search.py
index 3151f8998..26b26c0aa 100644
--- a/smac/acquisition/maximizer/local_search.py
+++ b/smac/acquisition/maximizer/local_search.py
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ def _search(
         while np.any(active):
 
             # If the maximum number of steps is reached, stop the local search
-            if num_iters == self._max_steps:
+            if num_iters is not None and num_iters == self._max_steps:
                 break
 
             num_iters += 1