diff --git a/changelog.d/5268.bugfix b/changelog.d/5268.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1a5a03bf0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/5268.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix schema update for account validity.
diff --git a/synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity.sql b/synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity_with_renewal.sql
similarity index 83%
rename from synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity.sql
rename to synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity_with_renewal.sql
index 235762600..0adb2ad55 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity.sql
+++ b/synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity_with_renewal.sql
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
+-- We previously changed the schema for this table without renaming the file, which means
+-- that some databases might still be using the old schema. This ensures Synapse uses the
+-- right schema for the table.
 DROP TABLE IF EXISTS account_validity;
 
 -- Track what users are in public rooms.