diff --git a/tripleo_ansible/roles/tripleo-sshd/tasks/main.yml b/tripleo_ansible/roles/tripleo-sshd/tasks/main.yml
index 11e17236f..d49820e8d 100644
--- a/tripleo_ansible/roles/tripleo-sshd/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/tripleo_ansible/roles/tripleo-sshd/tasks/main.yml
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@
           meeting expectations.
       when:
         - (tripleo_sshd_password_authentication != 'no') and
-          not (PermitRootLogin in tripleo_sshd_server_options)
+          not ('PermitRootLogin' in tripleo_sshd_server_options)
 
     - name: Adjust ssh server auth configuration
       lineinfile: