diff --git a/pkg/helm/nelm/nelm.go b/pkg/helm/nelm/nelm.go
index 273d7072..0884c086 100644
--- a/pkg/helm/nelm/nelm.go
+++ b/pkg/helm/nelm/nelm.go
@@ -415,6 +415,8 @@ func (c *NelmClient) UpgradeRelease(releaseName, modulePath string, valuesPaths
 		DefaultChartAPIVersion: "v2",
 		Timeout:                c.opts.Timeout,
 		InstallGraphPath:       installGraphPath,
+		// Releases are serialized by the module task queue, so the cluster-wide release lock is redundant.
+		LegacyNoReleaseLock: true,
 	}); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("install nelm release %q: %w", releaseName, err)
 	}
@@ -533,6 +535,8 @@ func (c *NelmClient) DeleteRelease(releaseName string) error {
 		ReleaseStorageDriver:     c.opts.HelmDriver,
 		Timeout:                  c.opts.Timeout,
 		UninstallGraphPath:       installGraphPath,
+		// Releases are serialized by the module task queue, so the cluster-wide release lock is redundant.
+		LegacyNoReleaseLock: true,
 	}); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("nelm uninstall release %q: %w", releaseName, err)
 	}