diff --git a/docs/source/changelog.rst b/docs/source/changelog.rst
index 7c1abfc4f3..7e0bb6d299 100644
--- a/docs/source/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/source/changelog.rst
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ from the previous milestone release.
 
 * Introduced a placeholder for custom properties within ``node.conf``; the property key is "custom".
 
+* Property keys with double quotes (e.g. `"key"`) in ``node.conf`` are no longer allowed, for rationale refer to :doc:`corda-configuration-file`.
+
 * java.math.BigInteger serialization support added.
 
 * java.security.cert.CRLReason added to the default Whitelist.
diff --git a/docs/source/corda-configuration-file.rst b/docs/source/corda-configuration-file.rst
index ffb1303440..e7eadde296 100644
--- a/docs/source/corda-configuration-file.rst
+++ b/docs/source/corda-configuration-file.rst
@@ -22,6 +22,15 @@ Format
 The Corda configuration file uses the HOCON format which is superset of JSON. Please visit
 `<https://github.com/typesafehub/config/blob/master/HOCON.md>`_ for further details.
 
+Please do NOT use double quotes (``"``) in configuration keys.
+
+Node setup will log `Config files should not contain \" in property names. Please fix: [key]` as error
+when it founds double quotes around keys.
+This prevents configuration errors when mixing keys containing ``.`` wrapped with double quotes and without them
+e.g.:
+The property `"dataSourceProperties.dataSourceClassName" = "val"` in ``reference.conf``
+would be not overwritten by the property `dataSourceProperties.dataSourceClassName = "val2"` in ``node.conf``.
+
 Defaults
 --------
 A set of default configuration options are loaded from the built-in resource file ``/node/src/main/resources/reference.conf``.
@@ -286,4 +295,4 @@ Longer term these keys will be managed in secure hardware devices.
         :permissions: A list of permissions for starting flows via RPC. To give the user the permission to start the flow
             ``foo.bar.FlowClass``, add the string ``StartFlow.foo.bar.FlowClass`` to the list. If the list
         contains the string ``ALL``, the user can start any flow via RPC. This value is intended for administrator
-        users and for development.
\ No newline at end of file
+        users and for development.
diff --git a/docs/source/example-code/src/main/resources/example-node.conf b/docs/source/example-code/src/main/resources/example-node.conf
index 06e9fae078..48595226ab 100644
--- a/docs/source/example-code/src/main/resources/example-node.conf
+++ b/docs/source/example-code/src/main/resources/example-node.conf
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@ keyStorePassword : "cordacadevpass"
 trustStorePassword : "trustpass"
 dataSourceProperties : {
     dataSourceClassName : org.h2.jdbcx.JdbcDataSource
-    "dataSource.url" : "jdbc:h2:file:"${baseDirectory}"/persistence"
-    "dataSource.user" : sa
-    "dataSource.password" : ""
+    dataSource.url : "jdbc:h2:file:"${baseDirectory}"/persistence"
+    dataSource.user : sa
+    dataSource.password : ""
 }
 p2pAddress : "my-corda-node:10002"
 rpcSettings = {
diff --git a/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/services/config/ConfigUtilities.kt b/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/services/config/ConfigUtilities.kt
index 9307205dea..97eee02aed 100644
--- a/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/services/config/ConfigUtilities.kt
+++ b/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/services/config/ConfigUtilities.kt
@@ -58,7 +58,16 @@ object ConfigHelper {
                 .withFallback(appConfig)
                 .withFallback(defaultConfig)
                 .resolve()
+
+
         log.info("Config:\n${finalConfig.root().render(ConfigRenderOptions.defaults())}")
+
+        val entrySet = finalConfig.entrySet().filter { entry -> entry.key.contains("\"") }
+        for (mutableEntry in entrySet) {
+            val key = mutableEntry.key
+            log.error("Config files should not contain \" in property names. Please fix: ${key}")
+        }
+
         return finalConfig
     }