diff --git a/roomserver/internal/input_membership.go b/roomserver/internal/input_membership.go
index 71cebb442..868b371d8 100644
--- a/roomserver/internal/input_membership.go
+++ b/roomserver/internal/input_membership.go
@@ -112,11 +112,10 @@ func (r *RoomserverInternalAPI) updateMembership(
 		return updates, nil
 	}
 
-	mu, cleanup, err := updater.MembershipUpdater(targetUserNID, r.isLocalTarget(add))
+	mu, _, err := updater.MembershipUpdater(targetUserNID, r.isLocalTarget(add))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	defer cleanup() // nolint:errcheck
 
 	switch newMembership {
 	case gomatrixserverlib.Invite: