diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Trees/ContentTreeControllerBase.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Trees/ContentTreeControllerBase.cs
index 84e7692d0c..930c51c713 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Trees/ContentTreeControllerBase.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.BackOffice/Trees/ContentTreeControllerBase.cs
@@ -384,8 +384,8 @@ public abstract class ContentTreeControllerBase : TreeController, ITreeNodeContr
     /// </remarks>
     protected sealed override ActionResult<TreeNodeCollection> GetTreeNodes(string id, FormCollection queryStrings)
     {
-        // check if we're rendering the root
-        if (id == Constants.System.RootString)
+        //check if we're rendering the root
+        if (id == Constants.System.RootString && UserStartNodes.Contains(Constants.System.Root))
         {
             var altStartId = string.Empty;
 
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ public abstract class ContentTreeControllerBase : TreeController, ITreeNodeContr
                 altStartId = queryStrings.GetValue<string>(TreeQueryStringParameters.StartNodeId);
             }
 
-            // check if a request has been made to render from a specific start node
+            //check if a request has been made to render from a specific start node
             if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(altStartId) == false && altStartId != "undefined" &&
                 altStartId != Constants.System.RootString)
             {
@@ -402,17 +402,16 @@ public abstract class ContentTreeControllerBase : TreeController, ITreeNodeContr
             }
 
             ActionResult<TreeNodeCollection> nodesResult = GetTreeNodesInternal(id, queryStrings);
-
-            if (nodesResult.Result is not null)
+            if (!(nodesResult.Result is null))
             {
                 return nodesResult.Result;
             }
 
             TreeNodeCollection? nodes = nodesResult.Value;
 
-            // only render the recycle bin if we are not in dialog and the start id is still the root
-            // we need to check for the "application" key in the queryString because its value is required here,
-            // and for some reason when there are no dashboards, this parameter is missing
+            //only render the recycle bin if we are not in dialog and the start id is still the root
+            //we need to check for the "application" key in the queryString because its value is required here,
+            //and for some reason when there are no dashboards, this parameter is missing
             if (IsDialog(queryStrings) == false && id == Constants.System.RootString &&
                 queryStrings.HasKey("application"))
             {