diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index e62b0ce6d..a86d2f2c6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ Version 0.4.2
 
 - Vdirsyncer now respects redirects when uploading and updating items. This
   might fix issues with Zimbra.
+- Relative ``status_path`` values are now interpreted as relative to the
+  configuration file's directory.
 
 Version 0.4.1
 =============
diff --git a/docs/config.rst b/docs/config.rst
index 6e79ce43b..6073fe0a2 100644
--- a/docs/config.rst
+++ b/docs/config.rst
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ General Section
 
 - ``status_path``: A directory where vdirsyncer will store metadata for the
   next sync. The data is needed to determine whether a new item means it has
-  been added on one side or deleted on the other.
+  been added on one side or deleted on the other. Relative paths will be
+  interpreted as relative to the configuration file's directory.
 
 - ``password_command`` specifies a command to query for server passwords. The
   command will be called with the username as the first argument, and the
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 12cc7f5fd..be405105f 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def runner(tmpdir, monkeypatch):
     return _CustomRunner(tmpdir)
 
 
-def test_load_config(monkeypatch):
+def test_read_config(monkeypatch):
     f = io.StringIO(dedent(u'''
         [general]
         status_path = /tmp/status/
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ def test_load_config(monkeypatch):
 
     errors = []
     monkeypatch.setattr('vdirsyncer.cli.cli_logger.error', errors.append)
-    general, pairs, storages = cli.load_config(f)
+    general, pairs, storages = cli.utils.read_config(f)
     assert general == {'status_path': '/tmp/status/'}
     assert pairs == {'bob': ('bob_a', 'bob_b', {'bam': True, 'foo': 'bar'})}
     assert storages == {
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ def test_invalid_storage_name():
         '''))
 
     with pytest.raises(cli.CliError) as excinfo:
-        cli.load_config(f)
+        cli.utils.read_config(f)
 
     assert 'invalid characters' in str(excinfo.value).lower()
 
diff --git a/vdirsyncer/cli/__init__.py b/vdirsyncer/cli/__init__.py
index 318dec709..affb6367b 100644
--- a/vdirsyncer/cli/__init__.py
+++ b/vdirsyncer/cli/__init__.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 '''
 
 import functools
-import os
 import sys
 
 from .tasks import discover_collections, sync_pair
@@ -16,7 +15,6 @@
     load_config, parse_pairs_args
 from .. import __version__, log
 from ..doubleclick import click
-from ..utils import expand_path
 
 
 def catch_errors(f):
@@ -58,18 +56,7 @@ def app(ctx, verbosity):
         ctx.obj = {}
 
     if 'config' not in ctx.obj:
-        fname = expand_path(os.environ.get('VDIRSYNCER_CONFIG',
-                                           '~/.vdirsyncer/config'))
-        if not os.path.exists(fname):
-            xdg_config_dir = os.environ.get('XDG_CONFIG_HOME',
-                                            expand_path('~/.config/'))
-            fname = os.path.join(xdg_config_dir, 'vdirsyncer/config')
-        try:
-            with open(fname) as f:
-                ctx.obj['config'] = load_config(f)
-        except Exception as e:
-            raise CliError('Error during reading config {}: {}'
-                           .format(fname, e))
+        ctx.obj['config'] = load_config()
 
 main = app
 
diff --git a/vdirsyncer/cli/utils.py b/vdirsyncer/cli/utils.py
index 61db4874b..0516487cb 100644
--- a/vdirsyncer/cli/utils.py
+++ b/vdirsyncer/cli/utils.py
@@ -250,7 +250,26 @@ def _validate_pair_section(pair_config):
         raise e
 
 
-def load_config(f):
+def load_config():
+    fname = expand_path(os.environ.get('VDIRSYNCER_CONFIG',
+                                       '~/.vdirsyncer/config'))
+    if not os.path.exists(fname):
+        xdg_config_dir = os.environ.get('XDG_CONFIG_HOME',
+                                        expand_path('~/.config/'))
+        fname = os.path.join(xdg_config_dir, 'vdirsyncer/config')
+    try:
+        with open(fname) as f:
+            general, pairs, storages = read_config(f)
+        _validate_general_section(general)
+        general['status_path'] = os.path.join(fname, general['status_path'])
+    except Exception as e:
+        raise CliError('Error during reading config {}: {}'
+                       .format(fname, e))
+
+    return general, pairs, storages
+
+
+def read_config(f):
     c = RawConfigParser()
     c.readfp(f)
 
@@ -293,7 +312,6 @@ def bad_section(name, options):
         except ValueError as e:
             raise CliError('Section `{}`: {}'.format(section, str(e)))
 
-    _validate_general_section(general)
     return general, pairs, storages