diff --git a/debian/gitlab.postinst b/debian/gitlab.postinst
index 8ce440fcfd..6b3d3bad52 100755
--- a/debian/gitlab.postinst
+++ b/debian/gitlab.postinst
@@ -93,9 +93,8 @@ case "$1" in
     # Create directories and change ownership
     echo "Creating runtime directories for gitlab..."
     # Setup ssh key file
-    mkdir -p ${gitlab_data_dir}/.ssh
-    touch ${gitlab_data_dir}/.ssh/authorized_keys
-    chown -R ${gitlab_user}: ${gitlab_data_dir}/.ssh
+    runuser -u ${gitlab_user} -- sh -c "mkdir -p ${gitlab_data_dir}/.ssh"
+    runuser -u ${gitlab_user} -- sh -c "touch ${gitlab_data_dir}/.ssh/authorized_keys"
     # Create .bundle for .bundle/config
     mkdir -p ${gitlab_data_dir}/.bundle
     chown -R ${gitlab_user}: ${gitlab_data_dir}/.bundle