diff --git a/src/accelerate/utils/fsdp_utils.py b/src/accelerate/utils/fsdp_utils.py
index fb8dc5f2cab..c92dfafd0d0 100644
--- a/src/accelerate/utils/fsdp_utils.py
+++ b/src/accelerate/utils/fsdp_utils.py
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ def merge_fsdp_weights(
 
 
 def ensure_weights_retied(param_init_fn, model: torch.nn.Module, device: torch.cuda.device):
-    _tied_names = model._tied_weights_keys
+    _tied_names = getattr(model, "_tied_weights_keys", None)
     if not _tied_names:
         # if no tied names just passthrough
         return param_init_fn