diff --git a/magnumclient/common/httpclient.py b/magnumclient/common/httpclient.py
index 038fb21a..a68bffef 100644
--- a/magnumclient/common/httpclient.py
+++ b/magnumclient/common/httpclient.py
@@ -60,7 +60,10 @@ def _extract_error_json_text(body_json):
 
 def _extract_error_json(body, resp):
     """Return error_message from the HTTP response body."""
-    content_type = resp.headers.get("Content-Type", "")
+    try:
+        content_type = resp.headers.get("Content-Type", "")
+    except AttributeError:
+        content_type = ""
     if content_type.startswith("application/json"):
         try:
             body_json = resp.json()
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/bug-1870264-1b4f14618b8422f9.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/bug-1870264-1b4f14618b8422f9.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7cdab0b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/bug-1870264-1b4f14618b8422f9.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    [`bug 1870264 <https://bugs.launchpad.net/python-magnumclient/+bug/1870264>`_]
+    Fixed bug where the error message from the response could not be parsed.