diff --git a/lix/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc b/lix/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc
index 38b287c19..a7414fb1e 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc
@@ -225,6 +225,10 @@ retry:
 
     assert(derivationType);
 
+    // check that all prerequisites for building locally are met (e.g. builds on linux
+    // when cgroups are configured requires the system to be set up in a certain way).
+    worker.requireBuildSupport();
+
     /* Are we doing a chroot build? */
     {
         auto noChroot = parsedDrv->getBoolAttr("__noChroot");
diff --git a/lix/libstore/build/worker.cc b/lix/libstore/build/worker.cc
index 672985c65..138bfd6e9 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/build/worker.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/build/worker.cc
@@ -40,6 +40,18 @@ Worker::Worker(Store & store, Store & evalStore, AvailableNamespaces namespaces)
     , namespaces(namespaces)
 {
     /* Debugging: prevent recursive workers. */
+}
+
+void Worker::requireBuildSupport()
+{
+    if (buildSupportEnsured) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (!useBuildUsers()) {
+        buildSupportEnsured = true;
+        return;
+    }
 
 #ifdef __linux__
 
@@ -130,8 +142,9 @@ Worker::Worker(Store & store, Store & evalStore, AvailableNamespaces namespaces)
     }
 #undef CGROUPS_DISABLE_MSG
 #endif
-}
 
+    buildSupportEnsured = true;
+}
 
 Worker::~Worker()
 {
diff --git a/lix/libstore/build/worker.hh b/lix/libstore/build/worker.hh
index cd3b27f61..2d1a214a8 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/build/worker.hh
+++ b/lix/libstore/build/worker.hh
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ public:
 private:
 
     bool running = false;
+    bool buildSupportEnsured = false;
 
     template<typename G>
     struct CachedGoal
@@ -236,6 +237,11 @@ public:
 
     const AvailableNamespaces namespaces;
 
+    /**
+     * Check that the current store can *build*, not only substitute.
+     */
+    void requireBuildSupport();
+
 private:
     Worker(Store & store, Store & evalStore, AvailableNamespaces namespaces);
     ~Worker();