diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 093a6cd75..a42708bc1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@
     process to 100%. [GH-832]
   - Fix issue where shell provisioner would sometimes never end. [GH-968]
   - FIx issue where puppet would reorder module paths. [GH-964]
+  - Human-friendly error is raised if there are permission issues when
+    using SCP to upload files. [GH-924]
 
 ## 1.0.3 (May 1, 2012)
 
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/communication/ssh.rb b/lib/vagrant/communication/ssh.rb
index 44f1ade97..92d6e5a32 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/communication/ssh.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/communication/ssh.rb
@@ -85,6 +85,15 @@ module Vagrant
         scp_connect do |scp|
           scp.upload!(from, to)
         end
+      rescue RuntimeError => e
+        # Net::SCP raises a runtime error for this so the only way we have
+        # to really catch this exception is to check the message to see if
+        # it is something we care about. If it isn't, we re-raise.
+        raise if e.message !~ /Permission denied/
+
+        # Otherwise, it is a permission denied, so let's raise a proper
+        # exception
+        raise Errors::SCPPermissionDenied, :path => from
       end
 
       protected
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/errors.rb b/lib/vagrant/errors.rb
index 9a192386a..778872d57 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/errors.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/errors.rb
@@ -303,6 +303,11 @@ module Vagrant
       error_key(:plugin_load_error)
     end
 
+    class SCPPermissionDenied < VagrantError
+      status_code(82)
+      error_key(:scp_permission_denied)
+    end
+
     class SCPUnavailable < VagrantError
       status_code(56)
       error_key(:scp_unavailable)
diff --git a/templates/locales/en.yml b/templates/locales/en.yml
index deac589cb..8e809fd80 100644
--- a/templates/locales/en.yml
+++ b/templates/locales/en.yml
@@ -92,6 +92,12 @@ en:
         for you but VirtualBox only allows forwarded ports to change if the VM is
         powered off. Therefore, please reload your VM or halt the other running
         VMs to continue.
+      scp_permission_denied: |-
+        Failed to upload a file to the guest VM via SCP due to a permissions
+        error. This is normally because the user running Vagrant doesn't have
+        read permission on the file. Please set proper permissions on the file:
+
+        %{path}
       scp_unavailable: |-
         SSH server on the guest doesn't support SCP. Please install the necessary
         software to enable SCP on your guest operating system.