diff --git a/otterdog/providers/github/rest/repo_client.py b/otterdog/providers/github/rest/repo_client.py
index bb91264..7d5c20c 100644
--- a/otterdog/providers/github/rest/repo_client.py
+++ b/otterdog/providers/github/rest/repo_client.py
@@ -472,7 +472,9 @@ async def _update_github_pages_config(self, org_id: str, repo_name: str, gh_page
 
         build_type = gh_pages.get("build_type", None)
         if build_type == "disabled":
-            await self.requester.request_raw("DELETE", f"/repos/{org_id}/{repo_name}/pages")
+            status, body = await self.requester.request_raw("DELETE", f"/repos/{org_id}/{repo_name}/pages")
+            if status != 204:
+                raise RuntimeError(f"failed to disable github pages for repo '{repo_name}': {body}")
         else:
             gh_pages_data: list[tuple[str, str, int]] = []
             # first check if the pages config already exists: