diff --git a/src/libsystemd-network/sd-dhcp-client.c b/src/libsystemd-network/sd-dhcp-client.c
index bb9ea35943..d126aa9e83 100644
--- a/src/libsystemd-network/sd-dhcp-client.c
+++ b/src/libsystemd-network/sd-dhcp-client.c
@@ -1490,6 +1490,8 @@ static int client_start_delayed(sd_dhcp_client *client) {
 }
 
 static int client_start(sd_dhcp_client *client) {
+        assert(client);
+
         client->start_delay = 0;
         return client_start_delayed(client);
 }