diff --git a/otp_build b/otp_build
index b4ac496e10d2..cf61dd27e1b8 100755
--- a/otp_build
+++ b/otp_build
@@ -137,6 +137,15 @@ check_erltop ()
 		    echo "The environment variable ERL_TOP must be set." >&2
 		    exit 1
 		fi
+	elif [ "X$1" != "Xtests" ]; then
+	    real_ERL_TOP=`realpath $ERL_TOP`
+	    real_PWD=`realpath $PWD`
+	    if [ "X${real_PWD##$real_ERL_TOP*}" != "X" ]; then
+		echo "ERROR: Current working directory is not in ERL_TOP." >&2
+		echo "ERL_TOP=$ERL_TOP" >&2
+		echo "PWD=$PWD" >&2
+		exit 1
+	    fi
 	fi
 }
 
@@ -1351,7 +1360,7 @@ do_remove_prebuilt_files ()
 
 # main
 
-check_erltop
+check_erltop $1
 
 cd "$ERL_TOP"