diff --git a/rest_framework/compat.py b/rest_framework/compat.py
index 7783bced3..7db548f00 100644
--- a/rest_framework/compat.py
+++ b/rest_framework/compat.py
@@ -139,16 +139,6 @@ except ImportError:
     requests = None
 
 
-# Django-guardian is optional. Import only if guardian is in INSTALLED_APPS
-# Fixes (#1712). We keep the try/except for the test suite.
-guardian = None
-try:
-    if 'guardian' in settings.INSTALLED_APPS:
-        import guardian  # noqa
-except ImportError:
-    pass
-
-
 # PATCH method is not implemented by Django
 if 'patch' not in View.http_method_names:
     View.http_method_names = View.http_method_names + ['patch']
diff --git a/rest_framework/filters.py b/rest_framework/filters.py
index cf8f6d1f7..3b52e5c19 100644
--- a/rest_framework/filters.py
+++ b/rest_framework/filters.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ from django.utils import six
 from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 
-from rest_framework.compat import coreapi, coreschema, distinct, guardian
+from rest_framework.compat import coreapi, coreschema, distinct
 from rest_framework.settings import api_settings
 
 
@@ -282,7 +282,11 @@ class DjangoObjectPermissionsFilter(BaseFilterBackend):
     has read object level permissions.
     """
     def __init__(self):
-        assert guardian, 'Using DjangoObjectPermissionsFilter, but django-guardian is not installed'
+        try:
+            import guardian
+        except ImportError:
+            raise ImportError('Using DjangoObjectPermissionsFilter, but django-guardian is not installed')
+        self.guardian_version = guardian.VERSION
 
     perm_format = '%(app_label)s.view_%(model_name)s'
 
@@ -300,7 +304,7 @@ class DjangoObjectPermissionsFilter(BaseFilterBackend):
             'model_name': model_cls._meta.model_name
         }
         permission = self.perm_format % kwargs
-        if tuple(guardian.VERSION) >= (1, 3):
+        if tuple(self.guardian_version) >= (1, 3):
             # Maintain behavior compatibility with versions prior to 1.3
             extra = {'accept_global_perms': False}
         else:
diff --git a/tests/test_permissions.py b/tests/test_permissions.py
index 80b666180..c39b4d12a 100644
--- a/tests/test_permissions.py
+++ b/tests/test_permissions.py
@@ -12,7 +12,10 @@ from rest_framework import (
     HTTP_HEADER_ENCODING, authentication, generics, permissions, serializers,
     status, views
 )
-from rest_framework.compat import guardian
+try:
+    import guardian
+except ImportError:
+    guardian = None
 from rest_framework.filters import DjangoObjectPermissionsFilter
 from rest_framework.routers import DefaultRouter
 from rest_framework.test import APIRequestFactory