Celebrity realtor Mauricio Umansky is warning that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s rent-control policies are worsening the housing crisis, not solving it. The real estate executive called the city’s 4% rent hike cap a political stunt that discourages development, fuels shortages, and pushes families out of California.
Umansky, CEO of luxury brokerage The Agency, spoke out during a recent appearance on Fox Business’ Varney & Co. He said Mayor Bass’s move to limit rent increases for rent-stabilized units to 4% annually is “a tremendous mistake” that may benefit tenants short-term but will backfire long-term.
He emphasized that the core problem isn’t rising rents—it’s the lack of housing caused by years of restrictive zoning and excessive red tape that deters new development.
The city of Los Angeles currently has over 600,000 rent-stabilized units, and landlords have seen profits shrink due to state and city interventions. Umansky warned that limiting rent increases while doing nothing to stimulate new construction will only reduce supply, drive investors away, and increase demand pressure—especially on middle-class families and first-time homebuyers.
He also pointed out the broader economic consequence: “Businesses are leaving. People are moving to Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Florida.” These states have seen population growth by promoting pro-growth housing policies and fewer regulations. California, by contrast, continues to lose working families who can no longer afford to live where they work.
Critics of the mayor’s rent policy argue it amounts to government micromanagement of the housing market and ignores market fundamentals. Without addressing zoning reform, fast-track permitting, or incentives for developers, Los Angeles risks entrenching the very crisis officials claim to solve.
Umansky’s remarks echo the concerns of many in the real estate and business community who see California’s current policies as unsustainable. They argue that real solutions require a return to principles of economic freedom, personal responsibility, and common-sense regulation that encourages housing growth and stability.
