diff --git a/distutils/dist.py b/distutils/dist.py
index 23571b0c..60edc5b5 100644
--- a/distutils/dist.py
+++ b/distutils/dist.py
@@ -346,7 +346,8 @@ def _gen_paths(self):
         prefix = '.' * (os.name == 'posix')
         filename = prefix + 'pydistutils.cfg'
         if self.want_user_cfg:
-            yield pathlib.Path('~').expanduser() / filename
+            with contextlib.suppress(RuntimeError):
+                yield pathlib.Path('~').expanduser() / filename
 
         # All platforms support local setup.cfg
         yield pathlib.Path('setup.cfg')