diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/aws/elbv2.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/aws/elbv2.py
index 1be37280770..74632ed4557 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/aws/elbv2.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/aws/elbv2.py
@@ -229,6 +229,9 @@ class ApplicationLoadBalancer(ElasticLoadBalancerV2):
         self.access_logs_s3_prefix = module.params.get("access_logs_s3_prefix")
         self.idle_timeout = module.params.get("idle_timeout")
 
+        if self.elb is not None and self.elb['Type'] != 'application':
+            self.module.fail_json(msg="The load balancer type you are trying to manage is not application. Try elb_network_lb module instead.")
+
     def create_elb(self):
         """
         Create a load balancer
@@ -340,6 +343,9 @@ class NetworkLoadBalancer(ElasticLoadBalancerV2):
         self.type = 'network'
         self.cross_zone_load_balancing = module.params.get('cross_zone_load_balancing')
 
+        if self.elb is not None and self.elb['Type'] != 'network':
+            self.module.fail_json(msg="The load balancer type you are trying to manage is not network. Try elb_application_lb module instead.")
+
     def create_elb(self):
         """
         Create a load balancer
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/elb_application_lb.py b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/elb_application_lb.py
index 9675dacd598..42f31d7051b 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/elb_application_lb.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/cloud/amazon/elb_application_lb.py
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ def main():
             security_groups=dict(type='list'),
             scheme=dict(default='internet-facing', choices=['internet-facing', 'internal']),
             state=dict(choices=['present', 'absent'], type='str'),
-            tags=dict(default={}, type='dict'),
+            tags=dict(type='dict'),
             wait_timeout=dict(type='int'),
             wait=dict(default=False, type='bool')
         )