diff --git a/handlers/rdiff.in b/handlers/rdiff.in
index f59d56a515ae16f5b1268a949dfd71cc7c821e80..45d5096675ba4a60c6e1f2ad8cd00402127ec0a6 100644
--- a/handlers/rdiff.in
+++ b/handlers/rdiff.in
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ function check_consistency() {
       if [ "$user" == "" ]; then
          fatal "User must be specified for remote $section."
       fi
-      if [ "host" == "" ]; then
+      if [ "$host" == "" ]; then
          fatal "Host must be specifed for remote $section."
       fi
    fi