diff --git a/manifests/init.pp b/manifests/init.pp
index f7b35f8..ee8e668 100644
--- a/manifests/init.pp
+++ b/manifests/init.pp
@@ -239,9 +239,7 @@ class ssh (
 
   # manage users' ssh authorized keys if present
   if $keys != undef {
-    $keys_type = type($keys)
-    if $keys_type == 'hash' {
-      create_resources(ssh_authorized_key, $keys)
-    }
+    validate_hash($keys)
+    create_resources(ssh_authorized_key, $keys)
   }
 }
diff --git a/spec/classes/init_spec.rb b/spec/classes/init_spec.rb
index ab766fc..339fe3b 100644
--- a/spec/classes/init_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/classes/init_spec.rb
@@ -710,4 +710,15 @@ describe 'ssh' do
       })
     }
   end
+
+  context 'with keys specified as not of type hash' do
+    let(:params) { { :keys => [ 'not', 'a', 'hash' ] } }
+    let(:facts) { { :osfamily  => 'RedHat' } }
+
+    it 'should fail' do
+      expect {
+        should include_class('ssh')
+      }.to raise_error(Puppet::Error)
+    end
+  end
 end