diff --git a/modules/org_policy_v2/README.md b/modules/org_policy_v2/README.md
index 80e3118..bf071f2 100644
--- a/modules/org_policy_v2/README.md
+++ b/modules/org_policy_v2/README.md
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ To control module's behavior, change variables' values regarding the following:
 | policy\_root | Resource hierarchy node to apply the policy to: can be one of `organization`, `folder`, or `project`. | `string` | `"organization"` | no |
 | policy\_root\_id | The policy root id, either of organization\_id, folder\_id or project\_id | `string` | `null` | no |
 | policy\_type | The constraint type to work with (either 'boolean' or 'list') | `string` | `"list"` | no |
-| rules | List of rules per policy. Up to 10. | <pre>list(object(<br>    {<br>      enforcement = bool<br>      allow       = optional(list(string))<br>      deny        = optional(list(string))<br>      conditions = optional(list(object(<br>        {<br>          description = string<br>          expression  = string<br>          title       = string<br>          location    = string<br>        }<br>      )))<br>    }<br>  ))</pre> | n/a | yes |
+| rules | List of rules per policy. Up to 10. | <pre>list(object(<br>    {<br>      enforcement = bool<br>      allow       = optional(list(string), [])<br>      deny        = optional(list(string), [])<br>      conditions = optional(list(object(<br>        {<br>          description = string<br>          expression  = string<br>          title       = string<br>          location    = string<br>        }<br>      )), [])<br>    }<br>  ))</pre> | n/a | yes |
 
 ## Outputs
 
diff --git a/modules/org_policy_v2/variables.tf b/modules/org_policy_v2/variables.tf
index 7e1bf3d..73af8ca 100644
--- a/modules/org_policy_v2/variables.tf
+++ b/modules/org_policy_v2/variables.tf
@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@ variable "rules" {
   type = list(object(
     {
       enforcement = bool
-      allow       = optional(list(string))
-      deny        = optional(list(string))
+      allow       = optional(list(string), [])
+      deny        = optional(list(string), [])
       conditions = optional(list(object(
         {
           description = string
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ variable "rules" {
           title       = string
           location    = string
         }
-      )))
+      )), [])
     }
   ))
 }