diff --git a/tempest/tests/services/compute/test_agents_client.py b/tempest/tests/services/compute/test_agents_client.py
index e8ea525..d268a18 100644
--- a/tempest/tests/services/compute/test_agents_client.py
+++ b/tempest/tests/services/compute/test_agents_client.py
@@ -32,10 +32,9 @@
                                                  'compute', 'regionOne')
 
     def _test_list_agents(self, bytes_body=False):
+        body = '{"agents": []}'
         if bytes_body:
-            body = bytes(b'{"agents": []}')
-        else:
-            body = '{"agents": []}'
+            body = bytes(body.encode('utf-8'))
         expected = []
         response = (httplib2.Response({'status': 200}), body)
         self.useFixture(mockpatch.Patch(