diff --git a/synapse/config/logger.py b/synapse/config/logger.py
index f9568ebd2..b18d08ec6 100644
--- a/synapse/config/logger.py
+++ b/synapse/config/logger.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ from synapse.util.logcontext import LoggingContextFilter
 from twisted.python.log import PythonLoggingObserver
 import logging
 import logging.config
+import yaml
 
 
 class LoggingConfig(Config):
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ class LoggingConfig(Config):
             logger.addHandler(handler)
             logger.info("Test")
         else:
-            logging.config.fileConfig(self.log_config)
+            logging.config.dictConfig(yaml.load(self.log_config))
 
         observer = PythonLoggingObserver()
         observer.start()