diff --git a/storage_controller/src/service.rs b/storage_controller/src/service.rs
index 3b85da6665..446c476b99 100644
--- a/storage_controller/src/service.rs
+++ b/storage_controller/src/service.rs
@@ -6356,6 +6356,19 @@ impl Service {
 
         // Pick the biggest tenant to split first
         top_n.sort_by_key(|i| i.resident_size);
+
+        // Filter out tenants in a prohibiting scheduling mode
+        {
+            let locked = self.inner.read().unwrap();
+            top_n.retain(|i| {
+                if let Some(shard) = locked.tenants.get(&i.id) {
+                    matches!(shard.get_scheduling_policy(), ShardSchedulingPolicy::Active)
+                } else {
+                    false
+                }
+            });
+        }
+
         let Some(split_candidate) = top_n.into_iter().next() else {
             tracing::debug!("No split-elegible shards found");
             return;