diff --git a/src/stores/room-list/RoomListStore2.ts b/src/stores/room-list/RoomListStore2.ts
index 8686a3a054..f3a77e765b 100644
--- a/src/stores/room-list/RoomListStore2.ts
+++ b/src/stores/room-list/RoomListStore2.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ import { TagWatcher } from "./TagWatcher";
 import RoomViewStore from "../RoomViewStore";
 import { Algorithm, LIST_UPDATED_EVENT } from "./algorithms/Algorithm";
 import { EffectiveMembership, getEffectiveMembership } from "./membership";
-import { ListLayout } from "./ListLayout";
 import { isNullOrUndefined } from "matrix-js-sdk/src/utils";
 import RoomListLayoutStore from "./RoomListLayoutStore";
 import { MarkedExecution } from "../../utils/MarkedExecution";
@@ -425,7 +424,8 @@ export class RoomListStore2 extends AsyncStore<ActionPayload> {
 
     // logic must match calculateListOrder
     private calculateTagSorting(tagId: TagID): SortAlgorithm {
-        const defaultSort = SortAlgorithm.Alphabetic;
+        const isDefaultRecent = tagId === DefaultTagID.Invite || tagId === DefaultTagID.DM;
+        const defaultSort = isDefaultRecent ? SortAlgorithm.Recent : SortAlgorithm.Alphabetic;
         const settingAlphabetical = SettingsStore.getValue("RoomList.orderAlphabetically", null, true);
         const definedSort = this.getTagSorting(tagId);
         const storedSort = this.getStoredTagSorting(tagId);