diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/actions.rs b/hive-c0re/src/actions.rs
index 84c782fd..61c06b7e 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/actions.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/actions.rs
@@ -660,7 +660,7 @@ pub async fn destroy(coord: &Arc<Coordinator>, name: &str, purge: bool) -> Resul
         let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&runtime);
     }
     if purge {
-        // The state root may be a btrfs subvolume (#1762): a subvolume root
+        // The state root may be a btrfs subvolume: a subvolume root
         // can't be removed with rmdir/`remove_dir_all`, so delete it via
         // hive-priv (root) first. No-op for plain-dir agents — the loop below
         // then handles the plain-dir state root plus the applied dir.
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs
index b0c03169..f46c50fd 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs
@@ -878,7 +878,7 @@ pub fn ensure_state_dir(notes_dir: &Path) -> Result<()> {
 /// filesystem supports it — BEFORE the per-agent subdirs (`state/`, `claude/`,
 /// `harness/`) are created by `ensure_state_dir` / `ensure_claude_dir`.
 ///
-/// Progressive enhancement (the #1762 model): if the root already exists
+/// Progressive enhancement: if the root already exists
 /// (any agent provisioned before this landed, plain dir or subvol) it's left
 /// exactly as-is — no auto-migration — and the priv round-trip is skipped. On
 /// a non-btrfs host the priv op no-ops and the root is later created as a
diff --git a/hive-priv/src/main.rs b/hive-priv/src/main.rs
index ee5b6ab7..7bffe4d1 100644
--- a/hive-priv/src/main.rs
+++ b/hive-priv/src/main.rs
@@ -565,17 +565,32 @@ async fn ensure_agent_subvolume(agent_name: &str) -> Result<(String, String)> {
         );
     }
 
-    // The subvol root is created root-owned; hive-c0re (the `hive-core` user)
-    // must be able to mkdir state/ claude/ harness/ inside it, exactly as it
-    // would in a plain dir. Match the owner of AGENT_STATE_ROOT (hive-core).
-    if let Ok(meta) = std::fs::metadata(&root)
-        && let Err(e) = std::os::unix::fs::chown(&agent_root, Some(meta.uid()), Some(meta.gid()))
-    {
-        tracing::warn!(
-            agent = %agent_name,
-            error = %e,
-            "ensure_agent_subvolume: chown subvol to agents-root owner failed"
-        );
+    // The subvol root is created root-owned, but hive-c0re (the `hive-core`
+    // user) must be able to mkdir state/ claude/ harness/ inside it — exactly
+    // as it would in a plain dir. Chown it to AGENT_STATE_ROOT's owner
+    // (hive-core). This MUST succeed: a root-owned subvol would make the
+    // downstream dir creation fail with a confusing permission error, and the
+    // c0re-side exists-check would then skip re-running this op on retry,
+    // wedging the agent. So on any failure roll the subvol back and bail — the
+    // create path surfaces a clear error and a retry starts clean.
+    let chown_result = std::fs::metadata(&root)
+        .with_context(|| format!("stat agents root {} for ownership", root.display()))
+        .and_then(|meta| {
+            std::os::unix::fs::chown(&agent_root, Some(meta.uid()), Some(meta.gid())).with_context(
+                || format!("chown subvol {} to agents-root owner", agent_root.display()),
+            )
+        });
+    if let Err(e) = chown_result {
+        // Best-effort rollback so we never leave a root-owned subvol behind.
+        let _ = Command::new("btrfs")
+            .args(["subvolume", "delete"])
+            .arg(&agent_root)
+            .output()
+            .await;
+        return Err(e.context(format!(
+            "rolled back subvolume {} after chown failed",
+            agent_root.display()
+        )));
     }
     tracing::info!(agent = %agent_name, path = %agent_root.display(), "created agent state subvolume");
     Ok((String::new(), String::new()))