diff --git a/demo/start.sh b/demo/start.sh
index d647400d39..0485be8053 100755
--- a/demo/start.sh
+++ b/demo/start.sh
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ for port in 8080 8081 8082; do
         --manhole $((port + 1000)) \
         --tls-dh-params-path "demo/demo.tls.dh" \
         --media-store-path "demo/media_store.$port" \
-		$PARAMS $SYNAPSE_PARAMS \
-		--enable-registration
+        $PARAMS $SYNAPSE_PARAMS \
+        --enable-registration
 
     python -m synapse.app.homeserver \
         --config-path "demo/etc/$port.config" \
diff --git a/synapse/config/registration.py b/synapse/config/registration.py
index a6a2d2c5e1..d5c8f4bf7b 100644
--- a/synapse/config/registration.py
+++ b/synapse/config/registration.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class RegistrationConfig(Config):
 
         reg_group.add_argument(
             "--enable-registration",
-            const=False,
+            const=True,
             default=False,
             nargs='?',
             help="Enable registration for new users.",