diff --git a/doc/source/guides/multinode-lab.rst b/doc/source/guides/multinode-lab.rst
index 81c5945307..79a76dedb1 100644
--- a/doc/source/guides/multinode-lab.rst
+++ b/doc/source/guides/multinode-lab.rst
@@ -75,6 +75,14 @@ Otherwise create the stack user:
 
     useradd -s /bin/bash -d /opt/stack -m stack
 
+Ensure home directory for the ``stack`` user has executable permission for all,
+as RHEL based distros create it with ``700`` and Ubuntu 21.04+ with ``750``
+which can cause issues during deployment.
+
+::
+
+    chmod +x /opt/stack
+
 This user will be making many changes to your system during installation
 and operation so it needs to have sudo privileges to root without a
 password:
diff --git a/doc/source/guides/single-machine.rst b/doc/source/guides/single-machine.rst
index a0e97edb37..03d93743f7 100644
--- a/doc/source/guides/single-machine.rst
+++ b/doc/source/guides/single-machine.rst
@@ -49,6 +49,14 @@ below)
 
     $ sudo useradd -s /bin/bash -d /opt/stack -m stack
 
+Ensure home directory for the ``stack`` user has executable permission for all,
+as RHEL based distros create it with ``700`` and Ubuntu 21.04+ with ``750``
+which can cause issues during deployment.
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+    $ sudo chmod +x /opt/stack
+
 Since this user will be making many changes to your system, it will need
 to have sudo privileges:
 
diff --git a/doc/source/index.rst b/doc/source/index.rst
index 08ce4cb061..0434d68838 100644
--- a/doc/source/index.rst
+++ b/doc/source/index.rst
@@ -57,6 +57,14 @@ to run DevStack with
 
    $ sudo useradd -s /bin/bash -d /opt/stack -m stack
 
+Ensure home directory for the ``stack`` user has executable permission for all,
+as RHEL based distros create it with ``700`` and Ubuntu 21.04+ with ``750``
+which can cause issues during deployment.
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+    $ sudo chmod +x /opt/stack
+
 Since this user will be making many changes to your system, it should
 have sudo privileges:
 
diff --git a/tools/create-stack-user.sh b/tools/create-stack-user.sh
index 919cacb036..cb8d7aa328 100755
--- a/tools/create-stack-user.sh
+++ b/tools/create-stack-user.sh
@@ -44,6 +44,15 @@ fi
 if ! getent passwd $STACK_USER >/dev/null; then
     echo "Creating a user called $STACK_USER"
     useradd -g $STACK_USER -s /bin/bash -d $DEST -m $STACK_USER
+    # RHEL based distros create home dir with 700 permissions,
+    # And Ubuntu 21.04+ with 750, i.e missing executable
+    # permission for either group or others
+    # Devstack deploy will have issues with this, fix it by
+    # adding executable permission
+    if [[ $(stat -c '%A' $DEST|grep -o x|wc -l) -lt 3 ]]; then
+        echo "Executable permission missing for $DEST, adding it"
+        chmod +x $DEST
+    fi
 fi
 
 echo "Giving stack user passwordless sudo privileges"