diff --git a/src/kike.c b/src/kike.c
index 1b218c9..07ebccd 100644
--- a/src/kike.c
+++ b/src/kike.c
@@ -638,16 +638,16 @@ irc_handle_nick (const struct irc_message *msg, struct client *c)
 		irc_send_reply (c, IRC_ERR_ERRONEOUSNICKNAME, nickname);
 		return;
 	}
-	if (str_map_find (&ctx->users, nickname))
-	{
-		irc_send_reply (c, IRC_ERR_NICKNAMEINUSE, nickname);
-		return;
-	}
 	if (c->nickname)
 	{
 		str_map_set (&ctx->users, c->nickname, NULL);
 		free (c->nickname);
 	}
+	if (str_map_find (&ctx->users, nickname))
+	{
+		irc_send_reply (c, IRC_ERR_NICKNAMEINUSE, nickname);
+		return;
+	}
 
 	// Allocate the nickname
 	c->nickname = xstrdup (nickname);