diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 96ca8ff0..3789dd15 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -386,9 +386,22 @@ function buildInnerObject (context, location, objVar) {
   const localUid = context.uid++
   let addComma = ''
 
-  if (requiredProperties.length > 0) {
-    // If we have required properties, we know that at least one property will be serialized.
-    // We can avoid the runtime check for the comma.
+  // The skip-leading-comma optimization is only safe when at least one
+  // declared property is also required: that guarantees the first emitted
+  // entry has no preceding separator. `propertiesKeys` is sorted with
+  // required keys first, so `requiredProperties.includes(propertiesKeys[0])`
+  // is the cheapest way to express the condition.
+  //
+  // Falls through to the generic runtime-`addComma` branch when:
+  //   * `requiredProperties` is empty (no anchor needed), or
+  //   * `propertiesKeys` is empty (record-style schema with only
+  //     `additionalProperties`), or
+  //   * `required` only names keys that are not in `properties` (so no
+  //     declared property is guaranteed to emit first).
+  // Otherwise the additionalProperties / patternProperties serializer
+  // would write a separator with no preceding property, producing
+  // `{ ,"k":v,... }`.
+  if (propertiesKeys.length > 0 && requiredProperties.includes(propertiesKeys[0])) {
 
     // The first property is required, so we don't need a comma.
     // For the subsequent properties, we can blindly add a comma.
diff --git a/test/additionalProperties.test.js b/test/additionalProperties.test.js
index a42e176b..4a44a8c3 100644
--- a/test/additionalProperties.test.js
+++ b/test/additionalProperties.test.js
@@ -330,3 +330,50 @@ test('function and symbol references are not serialized as undefined', (t) => {
   const obj = { str: 'x', test: 'test', meth: () => 'x', sym: Symbol('x') }
   t.assert.equal(stringify(obj), '{"str":"x","test":"test"}')
 })
+
+test('required + additionalProperties without declared properties produces valid JSON', (t) => {
+  // Regression: when `required` is non-empty but `properties` is absent
+  // (e.g. a record-style schema with only `additionalProperties`), the
+  // serializer used to emit a stray leading comma:
+  //   {"obj":{,"a":1,"b":2}}
+  // because the "skip first comma" optimization assumed a declared
+  // property would anchor it. With no `properties`, the additionalProperties
+  // branch would write the separator before its first entry.
+  t.plan(2)
+  const stringify = build({
+    type: 'object',
+    properties: {
+      obj: {
+        type: 'object',
+        propertyNames: { type: 'string', enum: ['a', 'b'] },
+        additionalProperties: { type: 'number' },
+        required: ['a', 'b']
+      }
+    }
+  })
+
+  const out = stringify({ obj: { a: 1, b: 2 } })
+  t.assert.equal(out, '{"obj":{"a":1,"b":2}}')
+  t.assert.deepStrictEqual(JSON.parse(out), { obj: { a: 1, b: 2 } })
+})
+
+test('required key not in properties + additionalProperties produces valid JSON', (t) => {
+  // Regression: declared `properties` is non-empty but `required` only lists
+  // keys that are not in `properties`. After sorting, propertiesKeys[0] is
+  // not required, so the "first declared property anchors the comma" premise
+  // does not hold. The serializer used to emit '{,"str":"x"}' for input
+  // missing the (non-required) declared `num`.
+  t.plan(2)
+  const stringify = build({
+    type: 'object',
+    properties: {
+      num: { type: 'number' }
+    },
+    additionalProperties: true,
+    required: ['str']
+  })
+
+  const out = stringify({ str: 'x' })
+  t.assert.equal(out, '{"str":"x"}')
+  t.assert.deepStrictEqual(JSON.parse(out), { str: 'x' })
+})
diff --git a/test/patternProperties.test.js b/test/patternProperties.test.js
index d80a7f1b..13633d4f 100644
--- a/test/patternProperties.test.js
+++ b/test/patternProperties.test.js
@@ -166,3 +166,27 @@ test('patternProperties - fail on invalid regex, handled by ajv', (t) => {
     }
   }), new Error('schema is invalid: data/patternProperties must match format "regex"'))
 })
+
+test('required key not in properties + patternProperties produces valid JSON', (t) => {
+  // Regression: symmetric case to the additionalProperties variant. `required`
+  // names a key not in `properties`, so after sorting propertiesKeys[0] is not
+  // required and the "first declared property anchors the comma" premise does
+  // not hold. The patternProperties branch shares the same code path, so the
+  // same stray-leading-comma bug would surface here without the tightened
+  // guard in `index.js`.
+  t.plan(2)
+  const stringify = build({
+    type: 'object',
+    properties: {
+      num: { type: 'number' }
+    },
+    patternProperties: {
+      '^s_': { type: 'string' }
+    },
+    required: ['s_x']
+  })
+
+  const out = stringify({ s_x: 'x' })
+  t.assert.equal(out, '{"s_x":"x"}')
+  t.assert.deepStrictEqual(JSON.parse(out), { s_x: 'x' })
+})