diff --git a/src/Hydra/lib/Hydra/Controller/Root.pm b/src/Hydra/lib/Hydra/Controller/Root.pm
index a474a3ec..99ca01c1 100644
--- a/src/Hydra/lib/Hydra/Controller/Root.pm
+++ b/src/Hydra/lib/Hydra/Controller/Root.pm
@@ -407,15 +407,17 @@ sub updateProject {
     my $displayName = trim $c->request->params->{displayname};
     die "Invalid display name: $displayName" if $displayName eq "";
     
-    my $owner = trim $c->request->params->{owner};
-    die "Invalid owner: $owner"
-        unless defined $c->model('DB::Users')->find({username => $owner});
-    
     $project->name($projectName);
     $project->displayname($displayName);
     $project->description(trim $c->request->params->{description});
     $project->enabled(trim($c->request->params->{enabled}) eq "1" ? 1 : 0);
-    $project->owner($owner) if $c->check_user_roles('admin');
+
+    if ($c->check_user_roles('admin')) {
+        my $owner = trim $c->request->params->{owner};
+        die "Invalid owner: $owner"
+            unless defined $c->model('DB::Users')->find({username => $owner});
+        $project->owner($owner);
+    }
 
     $project->update;