diff --git a/src/unit.c b/src/unit.c
index 2a549e2f811..018e9861cb3 100644
--- a/src/unit.c
+++ b/src/unit.c
@@ -858,6 +858,7 @@ fail:
         u->meta.load_state = UNIT_ERROR;
         u->meta.load_error = r;
         unit_add_to_dbus_queue(u);
+        unit_add_to_gc_queue(u);
 
         log_debug("Failed to load configuration for %s: %s", u->meta.id, strerror(-r));