diff --git a/web/e2e/namespace-delete.spec.ts b/web/e2e/namespace-delete.spec.ts
index 6c100848..a68820aa 100644
--- a/web/e2e/namespace-delete.spec.ts
+++ b/web/e2e/namespace-delete.spec.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
 import type { Page } from '@playwright/test'
 import { expect, test } from '@playwright/test'
 import { setEnglishLocale } from './helpers/auth-fixtures'
-import { registerSession } from './helpers/session'
+import { loginWithCredentials } from './helpers/session'
 import { E2eTestDataBuilder, type SeededNamespace } from './helpers/test-data-builder'
 
+function getAdminCredentials() {
+  const username = process.env.E2E_ADMIN_USERNAME ?? process.env.BOOTSTRAP_ADMIN_USERNAME ?? 'admin'
+  const password = process.env.E2E_ADMIN_PASSWORD ?? process.env.BOOTSTRAP_ADMIN_PASSWORD ?? 'ChangeMe!2026'
+  return { username, password }
+}
+
 async function archiveNamespaceViaApi(page: Page, slug: string): Promise<void> {
   const response = await page.context().request.post(
     `/api/web/namespaces/${encodeURIComponent(slug)}/archive`,
@@ -20,18 +26,23 @@ function namespaceCard(page: Page, namespace: SeededNamespace) {
     .first()
 }
 
+// Namespace lifecycle ties archive and delete to the OWNER role, and only
+// SKILL_ADMIN/SUPER_ADMIN can create a TEAM namespace via the portal API.
+// Since there is no REST endpoint to transfer ownership to a regular E2E user,
+// we run this spec under the admin account so the created namespace belongs to
+// the acting session (creator becomes OWNER automatically).
 test.describe('Namespace Delete (Real API)', () => {
-  test.beforeEach(async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
+  test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
     await setEnglishLocale(page)
-    await registerSession(page, testInfo)
   })
 
   test('delete button only visible after namespace is archived', async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
+    await loginWithCredentials(page, getAdminCredentials(), testInfo)
     const builder = new E2eTestDataBuilder(page, testInfo)
     await builder.init()
 
     try {
-      const namespace = await builder.ensureWritableNamespace()
+      const namespace = await builder.createNamespace('e2e-delete')
 
       await page.goto('/dashboard/namespaces')
       await expect(page.getByText(`@${namespace.slug}`)).toBeVisible()
@@ -52,11 +63,12 @@ test.describe('Namespace Delete (Real API)', () => {
   })
 
   test('delete confirm button stays disabled until reason is provided', async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
+    await loginWithCredentials(page, getAdminCredentials(), testInfo)
     const builder = new E2eTestDataBuilder(page, testInfo)
     await builder.init()
 
     try {
-      const namespace = await builder.ensureWritableNamespace()
+      const namespace = await builder.createNamespace('e2e-delete')
       await archiveNamespaceViaApi(page, namespace.slug)
 
       await page.goto('/dashboard/namespaces')
@@ -79,11 +91,12 @@ test.describe('Namespace Delete (Real API)', () => {
   })
 
   test('successfully deletes an archived namespace', async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
+    await loginWithCredentials(page, getAdminCredentials(), testInfo)
     const builder = new E2eTestDataBuilder(page, testInfo)
     await builder.init()
 
     try {
-      const namespace = await builder.ensureWritableNamespace()
+      const namespace = await builder.createNamespace('e2e-delete')
       await archiveNamespaceViaApi(page, namespace.slug)
 
       await page.goto('/dashboard/namespaces')