diff --git a/cloud/apps/relay/src/assignment-store.ts b/cloud/apps/relay/src/assignment-store.ts
index 14c3e50a0dc..fac9c514916 100644
--- a/cloud/apps/relay/src/assignment-store.ts
+++ b/cloud/apps/relay/src/assignment-store.ts
@@ -7426,6 +7426,18 @@ export class RelayAssignmentStore {
         [sourceCellId, targetCellId],
         'pool-default'
       )
+      // The counter is written as an absolute, so its units are read after the
+      // cell lock: a lease committed since the read above already bumped it.
+      const cellUnits = new Map(
+        (
+          await transaction.query(
+            `SELECT cell_id, SUM(request_units) AS units
+             FROM relay_assignment_activity_leases
+             WHERE cell_id IN (?, ?) GROUP BY cell_id`,
+            [sourceCellId, targetCellId]
+          )
+        ).map((row) => [text(row, 'cell_id'), integer(row, 'units')])
+      )
       const assignmentKeys = new Set(
         assignments.map((row) =>
           assignmentKey(text(row, 'user_id'), text(row, 'relay_host_id'))
@@ -7435,7 +7447,6 @@ export class RelayAssignmentStore {
         string,
         { counts: Record<AssignmentActivityKind, number>; leaseExpiresAt: number }
       >()
-      const cellUnits = new Map<string, number>()
 
       for (const lease of leases) {
         const key = assignmentKey(text(lease, 'user_id'), text(lease, 'relay_host_id'))
@@ -7451,7 +7462,6 @@ export class RelayAssignmentStore {
         current.counts[kind]++
         current.leaseExpiresAt = Math.max(current.leaseExpiresAt, integer(lease, 'expires_at'))
         assignmentCounts.set(key, current)
-        cellUnits.set(cellId, (cellUnits.get(cellId) ?? 0) + integer(lease, 'request_units'))
       }
 
       for (const row of assignments) {
diff --git a/cloud/apps/relay/src/postgres-transaction-recovery.test.ts b/cloud/apps/relay/src/postgres-transaction-recovery.test.ts
index ae9d52a7c86..a6a5ecbfc79 100644
--- a/cloud/apps/relay/src/postgres-transaction-recovery.test.ts
+++ b/cloud/apps/relay/src/postgres-transaction-recovery.test.ts
@@ -794,6 +794,57 @@ describePostgres('PostgreSQL transaction recovery', () => {
     ])
   }, 15_000)
 
+  it('keeps a unit placed between reconciliation reading leases and locking cells', async () => {
+    const now = 1_350_000_000_000
+    const cells = [
+      { id: 'reconcile-cell-a', url: 'https://reconcile-a.example.com', capacityRequests: 100 },
+      { id: 'reconcile-cell-b', url: 'https://reconcile-b.example.com', capacityRequests: 100 }
+    ]
+    const seedStore = new RelayAssignmentStore(database, () => now)
+    await seedStore.reconcileCells(cells)
+
+    const leasesRead = signal()
+    const continueReconciliation = signal()
+    let gateReconciliation = true
+    const reconcileDatabase = new TransactionProbeDatabase(database, async (phase, sql) => {
+      if (
+        gateReconciliation &&
+        phase === 'after' &&
+        sql.includes('SELECT lease.* FROM relay_assignment_activity_leases lease')
+      ) {
+        gateReconciliation = false
+        leasesRead.resolve()
+        await continueReconciliation.promise
+      }
+    })
+    const reconciliation = new RelayAssignmentStore(
+      reconcileDatabase,
+      () => now
+    ).cellEvacuationStatus('reconcile-cell-a', 'reconcile-cell-b', true)
+    await leasesRead.promise
+    // A brand-new host holds no row reconciliation locked, so it commits in the gap.
+    const grant = await seedStore.assign({
+      userId: 'reconcile-user-gap',
+      relayHostId: 'reconcilehostgap'
+    })
+    continueReconciliation.resolve()
+    await reconciliation
+
+    expect(['reconcile-cell-a', 'reconcile-cell-b']).toContain(grant.cellId)
+    const reservations = await database.query(
+      `SELECT cell.cell_id, cell.reserved_requests,
+         COALESCE(SUM(lease.request_units), 0) AS lease_units
+       FROM relay_cells cell
+       LEFT JOIN relay_assignment_activity_leases lease ON lease.cell_id = cell.cell_id
+       WHERE cell.cell_id = ?
+       GROUP BY cell.cell_id, cell.reserved_requests`,
+      [grant.cellId]
+    )
+    expect(reservations).toEqual([
+      { cell_id: grant.cellId, reserved_requests: '1', lease_units: '1' }
+    ])
+  }, 15_000)
+
   it('fences a source activity queued behind evacuation completion', async () => {
     const now = 1_400_000_000_000
     const identity = {