diff --git a/lib/platform/github/storage.js b/lib/platform/github/storage.js
index cd491ebb4f33085acb23f54b3945696a4fafdaf9..ea0af7e914ea720c4c4a838803adb20ecfe9a9e3 100644
--- a/lib/platform/github/storage.js
+++ b/lib/platform/github/storage.js
@@ -348,10 +348,18 @@ class Storage {
 
     // Return the commit SHA for a branch
     async function getBranchCommit(branchName) {
-      const res = await get(
-        `repos/${config.repository}/git/refs/heads/${branchName}`
-      );
-      return res.body.object.sha;
+      try {
+        const res = await get(
+          `repos/${config.repository}/git/refs/heads/${branchName}`
+        );
+        return res.body.object.sha;
+      } catch (err) /* istanbul ignore next */ {
+        logger.debug({ err }, 'Error getting branch commit');
+        if (err.statusCode === 404) {
+          throw new Error('repository-changed');
+        }
+        throw err;
+      }
     }
 
     async function getCommitMessages() {