diff --git a/playbooks/roles/gerrit/templates/gerrit.config.j2 b/playbooks/roles/gerrit/templates/gerrit.config.j2
index b345abac43..6a1e42b2f6 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/gerrit/templates/gerrit.config.j2
+++ b/playbooks/roles/gerrit/templates/gerrit.config.j2
@@ -8,15 +8,17 @@
 	reportBugUrl = "https://docs.openstack.org/infra/system-config/project.html#contributing"
 	gitHttpUrl = https://{{ gerrit_vhost_name }}/
 	serverId = {{ gerrit_serverid }}
-{% if not gerrit_run_init_dev_mode %}
 [auth]
+	# We have a long history of case sensitive usernames and need
+	# to preserve that behavior.
+	userNameCaseInsensitive = false
+{% if not gerrit_run_init_dev_mode %}
 	contributorAgreements = true
 	type = OPENID_SSO
 	cookieSecure = true
 	enableRunAs = true
 	openIdSsoUrl = https://login.ubuntu.com/+openid
 {% else %}
-[auth]
 	type = DEVELOPMENT_BECOME_ANY_ACCOUNT
 # In dev mode it's very useful to be able to reload plugins
 [plugins]