diff --git a/housekeeping/src/main/groovy/whelk/housekeeping/NotificationSender.groovy b/housekeeping/src/main/groovy/whelk/housekeeping/NotificationSender.groovy
index 28d903ec92..4fb29d2f18 100644
--- a/housekeeping/src/main/groovy/whelk/housekeeping/NotificationSender.groovy
+++ b/housekeeping/src/main/groovy/whelk/housekeeping/NotificationSender.groovy
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class NotificationSender extends HouseKeeper {
             for (Map settings : allUserSettingStrings) {
                 if (!settings["notificationEmail"])
                     continue
-                settings?.requestedNotifications.each { request ->
+                settings?.requestedNotifications?.each { request ->
                     if (!request instanceof Map)
                         return
                     if (!request["heldBy"])