diff --git a/scripts/mk-build-deps.pl b/scripts/mk-build-deps.pl
index 700575a8..6ae3e971 100755
--- a/scripts/mk-build-deps.pl
+++ b/scripts/mk-build-deps.pl
@@ -575,6 +575,7 @@ sub build_equiv {
     my $deb_file = "${pkgname}_${version}_${packagearch}.deb";
     return {
         package  => $pkgname,
-        deb_file => $deb_file
+        # this is created by equivs-build in TMPDIR || !
+        deb_file =>  ($ENV{'TMPDIR'} || cwd) . "/" . $deb_file
     };
 }