diff --git a/changelog.d/10697.misc b/changelog.d/10697.misc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..a9ad17faf26c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/10697.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Ensure `rooms.creator` field is always populated for easy lookup in [MSC2716](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2716) usage later.
diff --git a/synapse/storage/schema/main/delta/63/02populate-rooms-creator.sql b/synapse/storage/schema/main/delta/63/02populate-rooms-creator.sql
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d5975e9a4402
--- /dev/null
+++ b/synapse/storage/schema/main/delta/63/02populate-rooms-creator.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/* Copyright 2021 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+INSERT into background_updates (update_name, progress_json)
+    VALUES ('populate_rooms_creator_column', '{}');