diff --git a/plugins/ipam/dhcp/lease.go b/plugins/ipam/dhcp/lease.go
index 4377f58f0..8928c79de 100644
--- a/plugins/ipam/dhcp/lease.go
+++ b/plugins/ipam/dhcp/lease.go
@@ -234,19 +234,19 @@ func (l *DHCPLease) getAllOptions() dhcp4.Options {
 }
 
 func (l *DHCPLease) acquire() error {
-	c, err := newDHCPClient(l.link, l.timeout, l.broadcast)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer c.Close()
-
 	if (l.link.Attrs().Flags & net.FlagUp) != net.FlagUp {
 		log.Printf("Link %q down. Attempting to set up", l.link.Attrs().Name)
-		if err = netlink.LinkSetUp(l.link); err != nil {
+		if err := netlink.LinkSetUp(l.link); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
 
+	c, err := newDHCPClient(l.link, l.timeout, l.broadcast)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer c.Close()
+
 	opts := l.getAllOptions()
 
 	pkt, err := backoffRetry(l.resendMax, func() (*dhcp4.Packet, error) {