diff --git a/bernhard/__init__.py b/bernhard/__init__.py
index f3d238b..03c15c0 100644
--- a/bernhard/__init__.py
+++ b/bernhard/__init__.py
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ def __init__(self, host, port):
                 log.exception("Exception creating TCP socket: %s", e)
                 self.sock = None
                 continue
+            try:
+                self.sock.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
+            except (socket.error, AttributeError) as e:
+                log.exception("Could not set REUSEADDR on tcp client socket: %s", e)
             try:
                 self.sock.connect(sa)
             except socket.error as e: