diff --git a/src/main/ipc/worktrees-test-harness.ts b/src/main/ipc/worktrees-test-harness.ts
index 8297c695374..6e1019d2150 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/worktrees-test-harness.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/worktrees-test-harness.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import { resetSshProviderAuthorities } from '../ssh/ssh-provider-authority'
 import { createWorktreeRuntimeStub, type WorktreeRuntimeStub } from './worktrees-test-runtime-stub'
 import { handlers, mainWindow, store } from './worktrees-test-ipc-surface'
 import { configureMetadataPruningStoreMocks } from './worktrees-test-metadata-pruning-store'
-import { resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome } from './worktrees-test-ssh-host-home'
+import { resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome } from '../worktree-removal-test-ssh-host-home'
 import {
   ORIGINAL_PLATFORM,
   setPlatform,
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/ssh-worktree-lifecycle-part-02.spec.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/ssh-worktree-lifecycle-part-02.spec.ts
index 678ea23eb1d..a532cd45f10 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/ssh-worktree-lifecycle-part-02.spec.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/ssh-worktree-lifecycle-part-02.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome } from '../../worktree-removal-test-ssh-host-home'
+
 import {
   OrcaRuntimeService,
   SETUP_AGENT_SEQUENCE_STARTUP_SCRIPT_ENV,
@@ -30,6 +32,10 @@ import {
   syncSinglePty
 } from '../orca-runtime-test-fixtures.spec'
 
+// Why: these fixtures register an SSH provider, which models a connected relay session — and a
+// connected session has always read the host's `$HOME`. The removal guards refuse without it.
+beforeEach(resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome)
+
 describe('OrcaRuntimeService', () => {
   it('launches SSH setup terminals for runtime task-created worktrees', async () => {
     vi.mocked(listWorktrees).mockClear()
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-and-reconciliation-part-02.spec.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-and-reconciliation-part-02.spec.ts
index 0c7f99da477..58c1998e2da 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-and-reconciliation-part-02.spec.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-and-reconciliation-part-02.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome } from '../../worktree-removal-test-ssh-host-home'
+
 import {
   MOCK_GIT_WORKTREES,
   ORIGINAL_PLATFORM,
@@ -45,6 +47,10 @@ import {
 } from '../orca-runtime-test-fixtures.spec'
 import { createWorktreeRemovalRuntime } from '../orca-runtime-test-scenario-builders.spec'
 
+// Why: these fixtures register an SSH provider, which models a connected relay session — and a
+// connected session has always read the host's `$HOME`. The removal guards refuse without it.
+beforeEach(resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome)
+
 describe('OrcaRuntimeService', () => {
   it('warns that a missing-repo removal only forgot the workspace', async () => {
     const { runtimeStore } = createStaleRuntimeWorktreeStore(TEST_WORKTREE_ID, {
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-and-reconciliation-part-03.spec.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-and-reconciliation-part-03.spec.ts
index 941579fe645..a9edac0ede7 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-and-reconciliation-part-03.spec.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-and-reconciliation-part-03.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome } from '../../worktree-removal-test-ssh-host-home'
+
 import {
   OrcaRuntimeService,
   assertWorktreeCleanForRemoval,
@@ -24,7 +26,6 @@ import {
   writeFile
 } from '../orca-runtime-test-mocks.spec'
 import type { WorktreeMeta } from '../orca-runtime-test-mocks.spec'
-import { setWorktreeRemovalSshHostHomeResolver } from '../../worktree-removal-execution-host-route'
 import {
   TEST_REPO_ID,
   TEST_REPO_PATH,
@@ -37,6 +38,10 @@ import {
 } from '../orca-runtime-test-fixtures.spec'
 import { createWorktreeRemovalRuntime } from '../orca-runtime-test-scenario-builders.spec'
 
+// Why: these fixtures register an SSH provider, which models a connected relay session — and a
+// connected session has always read the host's `$HOME`. The removal guards refuse without it.
+beforeEach(resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome)
+
 describe('OrcaRuntimeService', () => {
   it('force-deletes a preserved branch on the qualified host when repo ids collide', async () => {
     const localRepo = store.getRepo(TEST_REPO_ID)!
@@ -463,9 +468,6 @@ describe('OrcaRuntimeService', () => {
     }
     registerSshGitProvider(repo.connectionId, gitProvider as never)
     registerSshFilesystemProvider(repo.connectionId, fsProvider as never)
-    // Why: the orphan-directory gate is a recursive delete, so it refuses until the host names its
-    // own home. A connected relay session always has, which is what this fixture stands for.
-    setWorktreeRemovalSshHostHomeResolver(() => '/home/remote-user')
     const runtime = new OrcaRuntimeService(runtimeStore as never, undefined, {
       getSshProvider: () => ptyProvider as never
     })
@@ -475,7 +477,6 @@ describe('OrcaRuntimeService', () => {
         runtime.removeManagedWorktree(`id:${worktreeId}`, { force: true })
       ).resolves.toEqual({})
     } finally {
-      setWorktreeRemovalSshHostHomeResolver(() => null)
       unregisterSshGitProvider(repo.connectionId)
       unregisterSshFilesystemProvider(repo.connectionId)
     }
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-execution-host.spec.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-execution-host.spec.ts
index 4370d02e217..66f561527ce 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-execution-host.spec.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-tests/worktree-removal-execution-host.spec.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import {
 } from '../orca-runtime-test-mocks.spec'
 import type { WorktreeMeta } from '../orca-runtime-test-mocks.spec'
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome } from '../../worktree-removal-test-ssh-host-home'
+
 import {
   TEST_WORKTREE_ID,
   TEST_WORKTREE_PATH,
@@ -18,6 +20,10 @@ import {
 import { createWorktreeRemovalRuntime } from '../orca-runtime-test-scenario-builders.spec'
 import type { ExecutionHostId } from '../../../shared/execution-host'
 
+// Why: these fixtures register an SSH provider, which models a connected relay session — and a
+// connected session has always read the host's `$HOME`. The removal guards refuse without it.
+beforeEach(resetWorktreeTestSshHostHome)
+
 const REMOTE_REPO_PATH = '/remote/repo'
 
 function missingPath(): never {
diff --git a/src/main/worktree-removal-home-guard.ts b/src/main/worktree-removal-home-guard.ts
index d6c36fefb84..004be97d6dc 100644
--- a/src/main/worktree-removal-home-guard.ts
+++ b/src/main/worktree-removal-home-guard.ts
@@ -40,13 +40,19 @@ export function executionHostRemovalHome(
 /**
  * Whether the host that executes the removal actually named its home directory.
  *
- * `false` is `unverifiable`, not "no home here" (docs/reference/ssh-execution-boundary.md). The
- * recursive-directory gates in `worktree-removal-safety.ts` require `true`, because there the home
- * guard is the only evidence standing between an `rm -rf` and somebody's `$HOME` — a bare-repo
- * dotfiles checkout puts a real `.git` file at the top of a home directory, which is exactly the
- * orphan proof those gates accept. `git worktree remove` does not require it: the execution host's
- * own Git registry already established that the path is a linked worktree of that repo, and a
- * missing second opinion does not retract that.
+ * `false` is `unverifiable`, not "no home here" (docs/reference/ssh-execution-boundary.md). Every
+ * gate in `worktree-removal-safety.ts` that authorises a delete requires `true`, because nothing
+ * else in reach rules out a home directory:
+ *
+ *   - The orphan gates accept a `.git` file at the top of a directory as proof, which is also what
+ *     a bare-repo dotfiles `$HOME` looks like.
+ *   - The registry does not help either. `git worktree add` takes a pre-existing empty directory,
+ *     and that directory can afterwards be somebody's `$HOME` — a build account's home, a
+ *     container's `HOME=/workspace`. Being a linked worktree of the repo proves provenance, not
+ *     that the path is not a home, and `git worktree remove --force` deletes the checkout.
+ *
+ * With the host's answer both are caught by containment. Without it only the path shapes remain,
+ * and a home at a non-standard location has no shape to match.
  */
 export function isRemovalHomeAuthorityResolved(home: WorktreeRemovalHomeAuthority): boolean {
   return home.kind === 'client' || !!home.homePath
diff --git a/src/main/worktree-removal-safety.test.ts b/src/main/worktree-removal-safety.test.ts
index 3a2da4c2481..9aa9775de44 100644
--- a/src/main/worktree-removal-safety.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/worktree-removal-safety.test.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import type { GitWorktreeInfo } from '../shared/worktree/types'
 import {
   canCleanupUnregisteredOrcaLeftoverDirectory,
   canSafelyRemoveOrphanedWorktreeDirectory,
+  findRegisteredDeletableWorktree,
   getRegisteredDeletableWorktree,
   isDangerousWorktreeRemovalPath
 } from './worktree-removal-safety'
@@ -563,6 +564,42 @@ describe('isDangerousWorktreeRemovalPath on an execution host', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  it('refuses a registered worktree while the execution host home is unanswered', () => {
+    // `git worktree add` accepts a pre-existing empty directory, and that directory can afterwards
+    // be somebody's `$HOME` (a build account's home, a container's `HOME=/workspace`). So the
+    // host's own Git registry proves provenance, not "this is not a home" — and `git worktree
+    // remove --force` deletes the checkout. With the host's answer the path is caught by
+    // containment; without it there is nothing left to catch a non-standard home shape.
+    const registered = [makeGitWorktree('/opt/src/repo', true), makeGitWorktree('/srv/homes/alice')]
+
+    expect(() =>
+      findRegisteredDeletableWorktree(
+        '/opt/src/repo',
+        '/srv/homes/alice',
+        registered,
+        executionHostRemovalHome(null)
+      )
+    ).toThrow('Refusing to delete protected worktree path: /srv/homes/alice')
+    expect(() =>
+      findRegisteredDeletableWorktree(
+        '/opt/src/repo',
+        '/srv/homes/alice',
+        registered,
+        executionHostRemovalHome('/srv/homes/alice')
+      )
+    ).toThrow('Refusing to delete protected worktree path: /srv/homes/alice')
+    // An answering host whose home is elsewhere still deletes it: the refusals above are the
+    // missing answer and the matching answer, not the path.
+    expect(
+      findRegisteredDeletableWorktree(
+        '/opt/src/repo',
+        '/srv/homes/alice',
+        registered,
+        executionHostRemovalHome('/srv/homes/bob')
+      )
+    ).toEqual(registered[1])
+  })
+
   it('refuses a home the host reported even when no path rule recognises it', () => {
     expect(
       isDangerousWorktreeRemovalPath(
diff --git a/src/main/worktree-removal-safety.ts b/src/main/worktree-removal-safety.ts
index c26d3fd0bf5..7f86c5f0e3a 100644
--- a/src/main/worktree-removal-safety.ts
+++ b/src/main/worktree-removal-safety.ts
@@ -103,7 +103,11 @@ export function findRegisteredDeletableWorktree(
   if (!worktree) {
     return null
   }
-  if (worktree.isMainWorktree || isDangerousWorktreeRemovalPath(worktree.path, repoPath, home)) {
+  if (
+    !isRemovalHomeAuthorityResolved(home) ||
+    worktree.isMainWorktree ||
+    isDangerousWorktreeRemovalPath(worktree.path, repoPath, home)
+  ) {
     throw new Error(`Refusing to delete protected worktree path: ${worktree.path}`)
   }
   assertWorktreeDoesNotContainRegisteredWorktree(worktree.path, worktrees)
diff --git a/src/main/ipc/worktrees-test-ssh-host-home.ts b/src/main/worktree-removal-test-ssh-host-home.ts
similarity index 52%
rename from src/main/ipc/worktrees-test-ssh-host-home.ts
rename to src/main/worktree-removal-test-ssh-host-home.ts
index a373afe0e51..696f7606520 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/worktrees-test-ssh-host-home.ts
+++ b/src/main/worktree-removal-test-ssh-host-home.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
-import { setWorktreeRemovalSshHostHomeResolver } from '../worktree-removal-execution-host-route'
+import { setWorktreeRemovalSshHostHomeResolver } from './worktree-removal-execution-host-route'
 
-/** The `$HOME` the worktree IPC suites' SSH hosts report. */
+/** The `$HOME` the worktree-removal suites' SSH hosts report. */
 export const TEST_SSH_HOST_HOME = '/home/remote-user'
 
 /**
- * Makes the harness's SSH hosts answer the removal guards' home question.
+ * Makes a suite's SSH hosts answer the removal guards' home question.
  *
  * Every suite that registers an SSH provider is modelling a connected relay session, and a
- * connected session has always read the host's `$HOME`. Without it the guards refuse the recursive
- * orphan delete — the right answer for a host that never answered, the wrong fixture for one that
- * did. Deliberately not wired from `worktrees-test-module-mocks`: that module is imported from
+ * connected session has always read the host's `$HOME`. Without it the guards refuse the delete —
+ * the right answer for a host that never answered, the wrong fixture for one that did.
+ * Deliberately not wired from `ipc/worktrees-test-module-mocks`: that module is imported from
  * `vi.mock` factories, and reaching the production route module from there pulls in
  * `providers/ssh-git-dispatch` while it is being mocked, which deadlocks the module runner.
  */