diff --git a/crates/matrix-sdk/src/sliding_sync/mod.rs b/crates/matrix-sdk/src/sliding_sync/mod.rs
index 9aec09e4e..762eaa4bc 100644
--- a/crates/matrix-sdk/src/sliding_sync/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/matrix-sdk/src/sliding_sync/mod.rs
@@ -23,9 +23,8 @@ mod list;
 mod room;
 
 use std::{
-    collections::BTreeMap,
+    collections::{BTreeMap, HashSet},
     fmt::Debug,
-    mem,
     sync::{
         atomic::{AtomicU8, Ordering},
         Arc, Mutex, RwLock as StdRwLock,
@@ -113,7 +112,7 @@ pub(super) struct SlidingSyncInner {
     room_subscriptions: StdRwLock<BTreeMap<OwnedRoomId, v4::RoomSubscription>>,
 
     /// Rooms to unsubscribe, see [`Self::room_subscriptions`].
-    room_unsubscriptions: StdRwLock<Vec<OwnedRoomId>>,
+    room_unsubscriptions: StdRwLock<HashSet<OwnedRoomId>>,
 
     /// Number of times a Sliding Session session has been reset.
     reset_counter: AtomicU8,
@@ -163,8 +162,10 @@ impl SlidingSync {
 
     /// Unsubscribe from a given room.
     pub fn unsubscribe_to_room(&self, room_id: OwnedRoomId) -> Result<()> {
+        // If removing the subscription was successful…
         if self.inner.room_subscriptions.write().unwrap().remove(&room_id).is_some() {
-            self.inner.room_unsubscriptions.write().unwrap().push(room_id);
+            // … then keep the unsubscription for the next request.
+            self.inner.room_unsubscriptions.write().unwrap().insert(room_id);
 
             self.inner
                 .internal_channel
@@ -434,7 +435,7 @@ impl SlidingSync {
 
     #[instrument(skip_all, fields(pos))]
     async fn sync_once(&self) -> Result<Option<UpdateSummary>> {
-        let (request, request_config) = {
+        let (request, request_config, requested_room_unsubscriptions) = {
             // Collect requests for lists.
             let mut requests_lists = BTreeMap::new();
 
@@ -461,8 +462,7 @@ impl SlidingSync {
 
             // Collect other data.
             let room_subscriptions = self.inner.room_subscriptions.read().unwrap().clone();
-            let unsubscribe_rooms =
-                mem::take(&mut *self.inner.room_unsubscriptions.write().unwrap());
+            let room_unsubscriptions = self.inner.room_unsubscriptions.read().unwrap().clone();
             let timeout = Duration::from_secs(30);
             let extensions = self.prepare_extension_config(pos.as_deref());
 
@@ -475,12 +475,13 @@ impl SlidingSync {
                     lists: requests_lists,
                     bump_event_types: self.inner.bump_event_types.clone(),
                     room_subscriptions,
-                    unsubscribe_rooms,
+                    unsubscribe_rooms: room_unsubscriptions.iter().cloned().collect(),
                     extensions,
                 }),
                 // Configure long-polling. We need 30 seconds for the long-poll itself, in
                 // addition to 30 more extra seconds for the network delays.
                 RequestConfig::default().timeout(timeout + Duration::from_secs(30)),
+                room_unsubscriptions,
             )
         };
 
@@ -544,6 +545,17 @@ impl SlidingSync {
             // `response_handling_lock`.
             let response_handling_lock = this.response_handling_lock.lock().await;
 
+            // Room unsubscriptions have been received by the server. We can update the
+            // unsubscriptions buffer. However, it would be an error to empty it entirely as
+            // more unsubscriptions could have been inserted during the request/response
+            // dance. So let's cherry-pick which unsubscriptions to remove.
+            {
+                let room_unsubscriptions = &mut *this.inner.room_unsubscriptions.write().unwrap();
+
+                room_unsubscriptions
+                    .retain(|room_id| !requested_room_unsubscriptions.contains(room_id));
+            }
+
             // Handle the response.
             let updates = this.handle_response(response).await?;