diff --git a/src/modules/tiling/window_tree.c b/src/modules/tiling/window_tree.c
index d43d1aebf..9470bda00 100644
--- a/src/modules/tiling/window_tree.c
+++ b/src/modules/tiling/window_tree.c
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ tiling_window_tree_add(Window_Tree *root, Window_Tree *parent,
 
    if (split_type > TILING_SPLIT_VERTICAL)
      {
+        free(new_node);
         return root;
      }
    else if (!root)