diff --git a/drivers/md/dm-zoned-metadata.c b/drivers/md/dm-zoned-metadata.c
index 2a5bc51fd6d5..595a73110e17 100644
--- a/drivers/md/dm-zoned-metadata.c
+++ b/drivers/md/dm-zoned-metadata.c
@@ -1588,7 +1588,7 @@ static struct dm_zone *dmz_get_seq_zone_for_reclaim(struct dmz_metadata *zmd)
 	struct dm_zone *zone;
 
 	if (list_empty(&zmd->map_seq_list))
-		return NULL;
+		return ERR_PTR(-EBUSY);
 
 	list_for_each_entry(zone, &zmd->map_seq_list, link) {
 		if (!zone->bzone)
@@ -1597,7 +1597,7 @@ static struct dm_zone *dmz_get_seq_zone_for_reclaim(struct dmz_metadata *zmd)
 			return zone;
 	}
 
-	return NULL;
+	return ERR_PTR(-EBUSY);
 }
 
 /*