diff --git a/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/azure/azure_config.go b/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/azure/azure_config.go
index 2f6f5f279ab..bdfdaee28ef 100644
--- a/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/azure/azure_config.go
+++ b/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/azure/azure_config.go
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ const (
 	// toggle
 	dynamicInstanceListDefault = false
 	enableVmssFlexDefault      = false
+	enableForceDeleteDefault   = false
 )
 
 // CloudProviderRateLimitConfig indicates the rate limit config for each clients.
@@ -310,6 +311,8 @@ func BuildAzureConfig(configReader io.Reader) (*Config, error) {
 		cfg.EnableForceDelete, err = strconv.ParseBool(enableForceDelete)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse AZURE_ENABLE_FORCE_DELETE: %q, %v", enableForceDelete, err)
+		} else {
+			cfg.EnableForceDelete = enableForceDeleteDefault
 		}
 	}