diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/BaseLoadBalancer.java b/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/BaseLoadBalancer.java
index d03e07a2fe9..7d05c41e0e0 100644
--- a/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/BaseLoadBalancer.java
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/BaseLoadBalancer.java
@@ -1192,6 +1192,10 @@ public abstract class BaseLoadBalancer implements LoadBalancer {
       return false;
     }
     if(areSomeRegionReplicasColocated(c)) return true;
+    if(idleRegionServerExist(c)) {
+      return true;
+    }
+
     // Check if we even need to do any load balancing
     // HBASE-3681 check sloppiness first
     float average = cs.getLoadAverage(); // for logging
@@ -1223,6 +1227,20 @@ public abstract class BaseLoadBalancer implements LoadBalancer {
     return false;
   }
 
+  protected final boolean idleRegionServerExist(Cluster c){
+    boolean isServerExistsWithMoreRegions = false;
+    boolean isServerExistsWithZeroRegions = false;
+    for (int[] serverList: c.regionsPerServer){
+      if (serverList.length > 1) {
+        isServerExistsWithMoreRegions = true;
+      }
+      if (serverList.length == 0) {
+        isServerExistsWithZeroRegions = true;
+      }
+    }
+    return isServerExistsWithMoreRegions && isServerExistsWithZeroRegions;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Generates a bulk assignment plan to be used on cluster startup using a
    * simple round-robin assignment.
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/StochasticLoadBalancer.java b/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/StochasticLoadBalancer.java
index 142f8cc200a..56b7ae46168 100644
--- a/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/StochasticLoadBalancer.java
+++ b/hbase-server/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/StochasticLoadBalancer.java
@@ -324,6 +324,10 @@ public class StochasticLoadBalancer extends BaseLoadBalancer {
       return true;
     }
 
+    if (idleRegionServerExist(cluster)){
+      return true;
+    }
+
     double total = 0.0;
     float sumMultiplier = 0.0f;
     for (CostFunction c : costFunctions) {
diff --git a/hbase-server/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/TestStochasticLoadBalancer.java b/hbase-server/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/TestStochasticLoadBalancer.java
index 91ef956691c..9b8a7b92ef6 100644
--- a/hbase-server/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/TestStochasticLoadBalancer.java
+++ b/hbase-server/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/balancer/TestStochasticLoadBalancer.java
@@ -255,7 +255,8 @@ public class TestStochasticLoadBalancer extends BalancerTestBase {
           Map<TableName, Map<ServerName, List<RegionInfo>>> LoadOfAllTable =
               (Map) mockClusterServersWithTables(servers);
           List<RegionPlan> plans = loadBalancer.balanceCluster(LoadOfAllTable);
-          assertTrue(plans == null || plans.isEmpty());
+          boolean emptyPlans = plans == null || plans.isEmpty();
+          assertTrue(emptyPlans || needsBalanceIdleRegion(mockCluster));
         }
       }
     } finally {
@@ -483,6 +484,10 @@ public class TestStochasticLoadBalancer extends BalancerTestBase {
             contains(DummyCostFunction.class.getSimpleName()));
   }
 
+  private boolean needsBalanceIdleRegion(int[] cluster){
+    return (Arrays.stream(cluster).anyMatch(x -> x>1)) && (Arrays.stream(cluster).anyMatch(x -> x<1));
+  }
+
   // This mock allows us to test the LocalityCostFunction
   private class MockCluster extends BaseLoadBalancer.Cluster {