diff --git a/control-plane/roles/metal/defaults/main/main.yaml b/control-plane/roles/metal/defaults/main/main.yaml
index a16b69c8..1d2755d3 100644
--- a/control-plane/roles/metal/defaults/main/main.yaml
+++ b/control-plane/roles/metal/defaults/main/main.yaml
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ metal_masterdata_api_projects: []
 metal_console_replicas: 3
 metal_console_resources:
 
-metal_mgmt_services: {}
+metal_mgmt_services: []
 # expected metal_mgmt_services data structure looks like this:
 # metal_mgmt_services:
 # - id: partition-a-mgmt-service