diff --git a/src/plugins/qmldesigner/designercore/model/qmlmodelview.cpp b/src/plugins/qmldesigner/designercore/model/qmlmodelview.cpp
index a31114f12e7..a8d8dcea05e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/qmldesigner/designercore/model/qmlmodelview.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/qmldesigner/designercore/model/qmlmodelview.cpp
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ NodeInstance QmlModelView::instanceForModelNode(const ModelNode &modelNode)
 
 bool QmlModelView::hasInstanceForModelNode(const ModelNode &modelNode)
 {
-    return nodeInstanceView()->hasInstanceForNode(modelNode);
+    return nodeInstanceView() && nodeInstanceView()->hasInstanceForNode(modelNode);
 }
 
 void QmlModelView::modelAttached(Model *model)