diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/networking/ssh/sshd.nix b/nixos/modules/services/networking/ssh/sshd.nix
index 192533e52de0..004b4f99670f 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/networking/ssh/sshd.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/networking/ssh/sshd.nix
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ in
                 mkdir -m 0755 -p /etc/ssh
 
                 ${flip concatMapStrings cfg.hostKeys (k: ''
-                  if ! [ -f "${k.path}" ]; then
+                  if ! [ -s "${k.path}" ]; then
                       ssh-keygen \
                         -t "${k.type}" \
                         ${if k ? bits then "-b ${toString k.bits}" else ""} \