diff --git a/pkg/action/install.go b/pkg/action/install.go
index 894a9d332..640312368 100644
--- a/pkg/action/install.go
+++ b/pkg/action/install.go
@@ -419,36 +419,8 @@ func (i *Install) RunWithContext(ctx context.Context, ch ci.Charter, vals map[st
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Bail out here if it is a dry run
-	if isDryRun(i.DryRunStrategy) {
-		// For server-side dry-run, validate resources against the API server.
-		// Force server-side apply in this path because kube dry-run semantics are
-		// only honored by the server-side apply create/update code paths.
-		if i.DryRunStrategy == DryRunServer {
-			serverSideDryRun := true
-			var err error
-			if len(toBeAdopted) == 0 && len(resources) > 0 {
-				_, err = i.cfg.KubeClient.Create(
-					resources,
-					kube.ClientCreateOptionServerSideApply(serverSideDryRun, false),
-					kube.ClientCreateOptionDryRun(true),
-				)
-			} else if len(resources) > 0 {
-				updateThreeWayMergeForUnstructured := i.TakeOwnership && !serverSideDryRun
-				_, err = i.cfg.KubeClient.Update(
-					toBeAdopted,
-					resources,
-					kube.ClientUpdateOptionForceReplace(i.ForceReplace),
-					kube.ClientUpdateOptionServerSideApply(serverSideDryRun, i.ForceConflicts),
-					kube.ClientUpdateOptionDryRun(true),
-					kube.ClientUpdateOptionThreeWayMergeForUnstructured(updateThreeWayMergeForUnstructured),
-					kube.ClientUpdateOptionUpgradeClientSideFieldManager(true),
-				)
-			}
-			if err != nil {
-				return rel, err
-			}
-		}
+	// Bail out early for client-side dry run before any cluster interaction.
+	if isDryRun(i.DryRunStrategy) && i.DryRunStrategy != DryRunServer {
 		rel.Info.Description = "Dry run complete"
 		return rel, nil
 	}
@@ -482,6 +454,36 @@ func (i *Install) RunWithContext(ctx context.Context, ch ci.Charter, vals map[st
 		}
 	}
 
+	// For server-side dry-run, validate resources against the API server after
+	// namespace creation so resources inside that namespace resolve correctly.
+	if i.DryRunStrategy == DryRunServer {
+		if !i.ServerSideApply {
+			return rel, errors.New("--dry-run=server requires --server-side=true")
+		}
+		var err error
+		if len(toBeAdopted) == 0 && len(resources) > 0 {
+			_, err = i.cfg.KubeClient.Create(
+				resources,
+				kube.ClientCreateOptionServerSideApply(true, i.ForceConflicts),
+				kube.ClientCreateOptionDryRun(true),
+			)
+		} else if len(resources) > 0 {
+			_, err = i.cfg.KubeClient.Update(
+				toBeAdopted,
+				resources,
+				kube.ClientUpdateOptionForceReplace(false),
+				kube.ClientUpdateOptionServerSideApply(true, i.ForceConflicts),
+				kube.ClientUpdateOptionDryRun(true),
+				kube.ClientUpdateOptionUpgradeClientSideFieldManager(i.TakeOwnership),
+			)
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			return rel, err
+		}
+		rel.Info.Description = "Dry run complete"
+		return rel, nil
+	}
+
 	// If Replace is true, we need to supersede the last release.
 	if i.Replace {
 		if err := i.replaceRelease(rel); err != nil {