diff --git a/library/ipahost.py b/library/ipahost.py
index b0a555335a5ca148253790cbbb680363512da65f..274cb699caa6d244e3e266b380de713a236721f2 100644
--- a/library/ipahost.py
+++ b/library/ipahost.py
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ host:
 '''
 
 import os
+import six
 
 from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleModule
 
@@ -162,6 +163,9 @@ from ipalib import api, errors
 from ipaplatform.paths import paths
 from ipapython.ipautil import run
 
+if six.PY3:
+    unicode = str
+
 def get_host_diff(ipa_host, module_host):
     """
     Compares two dictionaries containing host attributes and builds a dict