diff --git a/readthedocs/projects/tasks/builds.py b/readthedocs/projects/tasks/builds.py
index 0735f018c6e..5dc70fc5f81 100644
--- a/readthedocs/projects/tasks/builds.py
+++ b/readthedocs/projects/tasks/builds.py
@@ -782,7 +782,7 @@ def after_return(self, status, retval, task_id, args, kwargs, einfo):
             log.exception("Failed to revoke build api key.", exc_info=True)
 
         # Disable scale-in protection on this instance
-        if self.data.project.has_feature(Feature.SCALE_IN_PROTECTION):
+        if self.data.project and self.data.project.has_feature(Feature.SCALE_IN_PROTECTION):
             set_builder_scale_in_protection.delay(
                 build_id=self.data.build_pk,
                 builder=socket.gethostname(),