diff --git a/src/wayland/meta-wayland-transaction.c b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-transaction.c
index 694ce6dbe..17d702926 100644
--- a/src/wayland/meta-wayland-transaction.c
+++ b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-transaction.c
@@ -485,8 +485,12 @@ meta_wayland_transaction_ensure_entry (MetaWaylandTransaction *transaction,
   if (entry)
     return entry;
 
+  g_return_val_if_fail (surface, NULL);
+  surface = g_object_ref (surface);
+  g_return_val_if_fail (surface, NULL);
+
   entry = g_new0 (MetaWaylandTransactionEntry, 1);
-  g_hash_table_insert (transaction->entries, g_object_ref (surface), entry);
+  g_hash_table_insert (transaction->entries, surface, entry);
 
   return entry;
 }