diff --git a/synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity.sql b/synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity_with_renewal.sql
similarity index 83%
rename from synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity.sql
rename to synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity_with_renewal.sql
index 2357626000ffcad11b4fe84263c78f4d7cd69dea..0adb2ad55e35ac0243488da5a98e44c36abb2ebc 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity.sql
+++ b/synapse/storage/schema/delta/54/account_validity_with_renewal.sql
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
+-- We previously changed the schema for this table without renaming the file, which means
+-- that some databases might still be using the old schema. This ensures Synapse uses the
+-- right schema for the table.
 DROP TABLE IF EXISTS account_validity;
 
 -- Track what users are in public rooms.