diff --git a/url/src/lib.rs b/url/src/lib.rs
index fa2803681..215944eeb 100644
--- a/url/src/lib.rs
+++ b/url/src/lib.rs
@@ -2025,7 +2025,17 @@ impl Url {
         let scheme_type = SchemeType::from(self.scheme());
 
         if let Some(host) = host {
-            if host.is_empty() && scheme_type.is_special() && !scheme_type.is_file() {
+            // An empty host is only valid for a non-special scheme that has no
+            // credentials and no port. Setting it otherwise would produce a
+            // serialization (e.g. `foo://user@/` or `foo://:1/`) that the parser
+            // itself rejects with `EmptyHost`, breaking the parse/serialize
+            // roundtrip. Mirror the parser here.
+            if host.is_empty()
+                && ((scheme_type.is_special() && !scheme_type.is_file())
+                    || !self.username().is_empty()
+                    || self.password().is_some()
+                    || self.port().is_some())
+            {
                 return Err(ParseError::EmptyHost);
             }
             let mut host_substr = host;
diff --git a/url/tests/unit.rs b/url/tests/unit.rs
index faeb7c5f4..073c86046 100644
--- a/url/tests/unit.rs
+++ b/url/tests/unit.rs
@@ -97,6 +97,34 @@ fn test_set_empty_host() {
     assert_eq!(base.as_str(), "file://foo/share/foo/bar");
 }
 
+#[test]
+/// https://github.com/servo/rust-url/issues/1144
+fn test_set_empty_host_non_special() {
+    // A non-special URL that has credentials or a port must reject an empty
+    // host: the resulting serialization (`foo://user@/`, `foo://:1/`) is one
+    // that `Url::parse` rejects with `EmptyHost`, so allowing it here would
+    // break the parse/serialize roundtrip. The URL must be left unchanged.
+    let cases = ["foo://user@host/", "foo://host:1/", "foo://user:pass@host/"];
+    for input in cases.iter() {
+        let mut url = Url::parse(input).unwrap();
+        let before = url.as_str().to_owned();
+        assert_eq!(
+            url.set_host(Some("")),
+            Err(url::ParseError::EmptyHost),
+            "{}",
+            input
+        );
+        assert_eq!(url.as_str(), before, "{}", input);
+    }
+
+    // Without credentials or a port, an empty host stays legal for a
+    // non-special scheme, and the result must roundtrip through the parser.
+    let mut url = Url::parse("foo://host/path").unwrap();
+    url.set_host(Some("")).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(url.as_str(), "foo:///path");
+    assert_eq!(Url::parse(url.as_str()).unwrap(), url);
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn test_set_empty_username_and_password() {
     let mut base: Url = "moz://foo:bar@servo/baz".parse().unwrap();