diff --git a/packages/ember-views/lib/views/view.js b/packages/ember-views/lib/views/view.js
index cf2451065b8..8f8299ff54a 100644
--- a/packages/ember-views/lib/views/view.js
+++ b/packages/ember-views/lib/views/view.js
@@ -58,7 +58,10 @@ Ember.CoreView = Ember.Object.extend(Ember.Evented, {
 
     // Register the view for event handling. This hash is used by
     // Ember.EventDispatcher to dispatch incoming events.
-    if (!this.isVirtual) Ember.View.views[this.elementId] = this;
+    if (!this.isVirtual) {
+      Ember.assert("Attempted to register a view with an id already in use: "+this.elementId, !Ember.View.views[this.elementId]);
+      Ember.View.views[this.elementId] = this;
+    }
 
     this.addBeforeObserver('elementId', function() {
       throw new Error("Changing a view's elementId after creation is not allowed");