diff --git a/roomserver/internal/query/query.go b/roomserver/internal/query/query.go
index ed7b2a295..f87a3f7ed 100644
--- a/roomserver/internal/query/query.go
+++ b/roomserver/internal/query/query.go
@@ -855,7 +855,7 @@ func (r *Queryer) QueryRoomsForUser(ctx context.Context, userID spec.UserID, des
 	for i, roomIDStr := range roomIDStrs {
 		roomID, err := spec.NewRoomID(roomIDStr)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, nil
+			return nil, err
 		}
 		roomIDs[i] = *roomID
 	}