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 68d7023a3ed..bdba8c2cd3f 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
@@ -1243,6 +1243,11 @@ public class StochasticLoadBalancer extends BaseLoadBalancer {
         DEFAULT_PRIMARY_REGION_COUNT_SKEW_COST));
     }
 
+    @Override
+    boolean isNeeded() {
+      return cluster.hasRegionReplicas;
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected double cost() {
       if (!cluster.hasRegionReplicas) {