diff --git a/.github/scripts/test-metallb-namespace.py b/.github/scripts/test-metallb-namespace.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e07cc4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/test-metallb-namespace.py
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Regression test for the MetalLB namespace existence check.
+
+The "Test metallb-system namespace" task in
+roles/k3s_server_post/tasks/metallb.yml must actually verify the namespace
+exists. A previous version ran `k3s kubectl -n metallb-system` with no
+subcommand, which only printed a usage page and always exited 0, so the task
+always succeeded even when the namespace did not exist (issue #350).
+
+This test loads the real task and asserts the command performs an explicit
+`get namespace metallb-system`, which returns non-zero when the namespace is
+absent.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+import os
+import subprocess
+
+import yaml
+
+
+def repo_root():
+    return subprocess.check_output(
+        ["git", "rev-parse", "--show-toplevel"], text=True
+    ).strip()
+
+
+def fail(message):
+    raise SystemExit(
+        "MetalLB namespace test failed: " + message
+    )
+
+
+def main():
+    task_file = os.path.join(
+        repo_root(), "roles", "k3s_server_post", "tasks", "metallb.yml"
+    )
+    with open(task_file, encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+        tasks = yaml.safe_load(handle)
+
+    task = None
+    for entry in tasks:
+        if entry.get("name") == "Test metallb-system namespace":
+            task = entry
+            break
+    if task is None:
+        fail("could not find the 'Test metallb-system namespace' task")
+
+    cmd = task.get("ansible.builtin.command")
+    if not cmd:
+        cmd = task.get("command")
+    if not cmd:
+        fail("task does not use ansible.builtin.command")
+
+    command_text = cmd if isinstance(cmd, str) else " ".join(cmd)
+
+    # A bare `-n metallb-system` with no subcommand prints kubectl usage and
+    # always exits 0, so it never proves the namespace exists. The fix must
+    # use an explicit get.
+    if "get namespace metallb-system" not in command_text:
+        fail(
+            "command does not run 'get namespace metallb-system'; "
+            "the task would only print usage and never verify the namespace "
+            "(got: {0!r})".format(command_text)
+        )
+
+    print("MetalLB namespace check regression test passed")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index 4858b55..9f7421b 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -113,6 +113,14 @@ repos:
           - Jinja2>=3.1
         pass_filenames: false
         files: ^roles/k3s_server_post/templates/metallb\.crs\.j2$|^\.github/scripts/test-metallb-interfaces\.py$
+      - id: metallb-namespace-test
+        name: MetalLB namespace test
+        entry: python3 .github/scripts/test-metallb-namespace.py
+        language: python
+        additional_dependencies:
+          - PyYAML
+        pass_filenames: false
+        files: ^roles/k3s_server_post/tasks/metallb\.yml$|^\.github/scripts/test-metallb-namespace\.py$
       - id: metallb-deploy-condition-test
         name: MetalLB deploy condition test
         entry: python3 .github/scripts/test-metallb-deploy-condition.py
diff --git a/roles/k3s_server_post/tasks/metallb.yml b/roles/k3s_server_post/tasks/metallb.yml
index 5e814c1..fb4d779 100644
--- a/roles/k3s_server_post/tasks/metallb.yml
+++ b/roles/k3s_server_post/tasks/metallb.yml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
 
 - name: Test metallb-system namespace
   ansible.builtin.command: >-
-    {{ k3s_kubectl_binary | default('k3s kubectl') }} -n metallb-system
+    {{ k3s_kubectl_binary | default('k3s kubectl') }} get namespace metallb-system
   changed_when: false
   with_items: "{{ groups[group_name_master | default('master')] }}"
   run_once: true