diff --git a/upup/models/cloudup/resources/addons/external-dns.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.19.yaml.template b/upup/models/cloudup/resources/addons/external-dns.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.19.yaml.template
index f9a2b4a05f..f1ee87a7dd 100644
--- a/upup/models/cloudup/resources/addons/external-dns.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.19.yaml.template
+++ b/upup/models/cloudup/resources/addons/external-dns.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.19.yaml.template
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ metadata:
   labels:
     k8s-addon: external-dns.addons.k8s.io
   name: external-dns
+  namespace: kube-system
 spec:
   type: ClusterIP
   selector: