diff --git a/controllers/backplaneconfig_controller.go b/controllers/backplaneconfig_controller.go
index 0b2223509..16d453b5a 100644
--- a/controllers/backplaneconfig_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/backplaneconfig_controller.go
@@ -1643,7 +1643,7 @@ func (r *MultiClusterEngineReconciler) finalizeBackplaneConfig(ctx context.Conte
 	}
 
 	localClusterNS := &corev1.Namespace{}
-	if err := r.Client.Get(ctx, types.NamespacedName{Name: "local-cluster"}, localClusterNS); err != nil {
+	if err := r.Client.Get(ctx, types.NamespacedName{Name: "local-cluster"}, localClusterNS); err == nil {
 		// If wait time exceeds expected then uninstall may not be able to progress
 		if time.Since(backplaneConfig.DeletionTimestamp.Time) < 10*time.Minute {
 			terminatingCondition := status.NewCondition(
diff --git a/controllers/backplaneconfig_controller_test.go b/controllers/backplaneconfig_controller_test.go
index 0243ef53a..bd19db20e 100644
--- a/controllers/backplaneconfig_controller_test.go
+++ b/controllers/backplaneconfig_controller_test.go
@@ -115,11 +115,6 @@ var _ = Describe("BackplaneConfig controller", func() {
 				Namespace: DestinationNamespace,
 			},
 		})).To(Succeed())
-		Expect(k8sClient.Delete(context.Background(), &corev1.Namespace{
-			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-				Name: "local-cluster",
-			},
-		})).To(Succeed())
 	})
 
 	BeforeEach(func() {