diff --git a/neutron/agent/linux/ovsdb_monitor.py b/neutron/agent/linux/ovsdb_monitor.py
index 02f45f6b1b9..7e0ef251184 100644
--- a/neutron/agent/linux/ovsdb_monitor.py
+++ b/neutron/agent/linux/ovsdb_monitor.py
@@ -69,12 +69,6 @@ class SimpleInterfaceMonitor(OvsdbMonitor):
         )
         self.data_received = False
 
-    @property
-    def is_active(self):
-        return (self.data_received and
-                self._kill_event and
-                not self._kill_event.ready())
-
     @property
     def has_updates(self):
         """Indicate whether the ovsdb Interface table has been updated.
@@ -84,13 +78,13 @@ class SimpleInterfaceMonitor(OvsdbMonitor):
         the absence of updates at the expense of potential false
         positives.
         """
-        return bool(list(self.iter_stdout())) or not self.is_active
+        return bool(list(self.iter_stdout())) or not self.is_active()
 
     def start(self, block=False, timeout=5):
         super(SimpleInterfaceMonitor, self).start()
         if block:
             with eventlet.timeout.Timeout(timeout):
-                while not self.is_active:
+                while not self.is_active():
                     eventlet.sleep()
 
     def _kill(self, *args, **kwargs):
diff --git a/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py b/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
index d1de2068f9d..58ca74db5f7 100644
--- a/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
+++ b/neutron/tests/functional/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ class TestSimpleInterfaceMonitor(BaseMonitorTest):
         self.monitor.start(block=True, timeout=timeout)
 
     def test_has_updates(self):
+        utils.wait_until_true(lambda: self.monitor.data_received is True)
         self.assertTrue(self.monitor.has_updates,
                         'Initial call should always be true')
         self.assertFalse(self.monitor.has_updates,
diff --git a/neutron/tests/unit/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py b/neutron/tests/unit/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
index bf13fd4d851..9b8b9768706 100644
--- a/neutron/tests/unit/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
+++ b/neutron/tests/unit/agent/linux/test_ovsdb_monitor.py
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 #    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
 #    under the License.
 
-import eventlet.event
 import mock
 
 from neutron.agent.linux import ovsdb_monitor
@@ -56,22 +55,13 @@ class TestSimpleInterfaceMonitor(base.BaseTestCase):
         super(TestSimpleInterfaceMonitor, self).setUp()
         self.monitor = ovsdb_monitor.SimpleInterfaceMonitor()
 
-    def test_is_active_is_false_by_default(self):
-        self.assertFalse(self.monitor.is_active)
-
-    def test_is_active_can_be_true(self):
-        self.monitor.data_received = True
-        self.monitor._kill_event = eventlet.event.Event()
-        self.assertTrue(self.monitor.is_active)
-
     def test_has_updates_is_true_by_default(self):
         self.assertTrue(self.monitor.has_updates)
 
     def test_has_updates_is_false_if_active_with_no_output(self):
         target = ('neutron.agent.linux.ovsdb_monitor.SimpleInterfaceMonitor'
                   '.is_active')
-        with mock.patch(target,
-                        new_callable=mock.PropertyMock(return_value=True)):
+        with mock.patch(target, return_value=True):
             self.assertFalse(self.monitor.has_updates)
 
     def test__kill_sets_data_received_to_false(self):