diff --git a/src/finn/util/basic.py b/src/finn/util/basic.py
index a252d323dc650e205593449e815208178b7e52f0..4aba87216c8999612f748e989a945ceff33da167 100644
--- a/src/finn/util/basic.py
+++ b/src/finn/util/basic.py
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ def make_build_dir(prefix=""):
     try:
         tmpdir = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix=prefix)
         newdir = tmpdir.replace("/tmp", os.environ["FINN_BUILD_DIR"])
-        os.makedirs(newdir, exist_ok=True)
+        os.makedirs(newdir)
         return newdir
     except KeyError:
         raise Exception(