diff --git a/thorlcr/activities/hashdistrib/thhashdistribslave.cpp b/thorlcr/activities/hashdistrib/thhashdistribslave.cpp
index 5f543423889..6fcc98f6903 100644
--- a/thorlcr/activities/hashdistrib/thhashdistribslave.cpp
+++ b/thorlcr/activities/hashdistrib/thhashdistribslave.cpp
@@ -2727,7 +2727,7 @@ class CSpill : implements IRowWriter, public CSimpleInterface
         prefix.append(bucketN).append('_').append(desc);
         GetTempFilePath(tempname, prefix.str());
         OwnedIFile iFile = createIFile(tempname.str());
-        spillFile.setown(new CFileOwner(iFile.getLink(), tempFileSizeTracker));
+        spillFile.setown(new CFileOwner(iFile, tempFileSizeTracker));
         if (owner.getOptBool(THOROPT_COMPRESS_SPILLS, true))
         {
             rwFlags |= rw_compress;
diff --git a/thorlcr/activities/lookupjoin/thlookupjoinslave.cpp b/thorlcr/activities/lookupjoin/thlookupjoinslave.cpp
index 47d4835213f..c62c2d86758 100644
--- a/thorlcr/activities/lookupjoin/thlookupjoinslave.cpp
+++ b/thorlcr/activities/lookupjoin/thlookupjoinslave.cpp
@@ -2944,7 +2944,7 @@ class CLookupJoinActivityBase : public CInMemJoinBase<HTHELPER, IHThorHashJoinAr
         GetTempFilePath(tempFilename, "lookup_local");
         ActPrintLog("Overflowing RHS broadcast rows to spill file: %s", tempFilename.str());
         OwnedIFile iFile = createIFile(tempFilename.str());
-        overflowWriteFile.setown(new CFileOwner(iFile.getLink()));
+        overflowWriteFile.setown(new CFileOwner(iFile));
         overflowWriteStream.setown(createRowWriter(iFile, queryRowInterfaces(rightITDL), rwFlags));
 
         overflowWriteCount += rhsInRowsTemp.ordinality();
diff --git a/thorlcr/thorutil/thmem.cpp b/thorlcr/thorutil/thmem.cpp
index 3677e86647c..0e74d371462 100644
--- a/thorlcr/thorutil/thmem.cpp
+++ b/thorlcr/thorutil/thmem.cpp
@@ -1659,7 +1659,7 @@ class CThorRowCollectorBase : public CSpillable
         Owned<IFile> iFile = createIFile(tempName.str());
         VStringBuffer spillPrefixStr("%sRowCollector(%d)", tracingPrefix.str(), spillPriority);
         spillableRows.save(*iFile, spillCompInfo, false, spillPrefixStr.str()); // saves committed rows
-        spillFiles.append(new CFileOwner(iFile.getLink()));
+        spillFiles.append(new CFileOwner(iFile));
         ++overflowCount;
         statOverflowCount.fastAdd(1); // NB: this is total over multiple uses of this class
         statSizeSpill.fastAdd(iFile->size());
diff --git a/thorlcr/thorutil/thormisc.hpp b/thorlcr/thorutil/thormisc.hpp
index 73d57dbea31..d342c950633 100644
--- a/thorlcr/thorutil/thormisc.hpp
+++ b/thorlcr/thorutil/thormisc.hpp
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ class CFileSizeTracker: public CInterface
 // simple class which takes ownership of the underlying file and deletes it on destruction
 class graph_decl CFileOwner : public CSimpleInterface, implements IInterface
 {
-    OwnedIFile iFile;
+    IFileAttr iFile;
     Linked<CFileSizeTracker> fileSizeTracker;
     offset_t fileSize = 0;
 public: