diff --git a/clientapi/routing/room_tagging.go b/clientapi/routing/room_tagging.go
index 42b0b0c63..6e7324cd8 100644
--- a/clientapi/routing/room_tagging.go
+++ b/clientapi/routing/room_tagging.go
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ func DeleteTag(
 		}
 	}
 
-	tagContent := newTag()
+	var tagContent gomatrix.TagContent
 	err = json.Unmarshal(data[0].Content, &tagContent)
 	if err != nil {
 		return httputil.LogThenError(req, err)