diff --git a/dist/debian/python3/debian/scylla-python3.dirs b/dist/debian/python3/debian/scylla-python3.dirs
deleted file mode 100644
index bedfa827ba..0000000000
--- a/dist/debian/python3/debian/scylla-python3.dirs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-opt/scylladb/python3/bin
-opt/scylladb/python3/lib64
-opt/scylladb/python3/libexec
diff --git a/dist/debian/python3/debian/scylla-python3.install b/dist/debian/python3/debian/scylla-python3.install
deleted file mode 100644
index 8009033c41..0000000000
--- a/dist/debian/python3/debian/scylla-python3.install
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-bin/* opt/scylladb/python3/bin
-lib64/* opt/scylladb/python3/lib64
-libexec/* opt/scylladb/python3/libexec
diff --git a/dist/debian/python3/rules.mustache b/dist/debian/python3/rules.mustache
index bc29b65f68..1cf84d1139 100755
--- a/dist/debian/python3/rules.mustache
+++ b/dist/debian/python3/rules.mustache
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ override_dh_auto_configure:
 
 override_dh_auto_build:
 
+override_dh_auto_install:
+	dh_auto_install
+	./install.sh --root "$(CURDIR)/debian/{{product}}-python3"
+
 override_dh_strip:
 
 override_dh_makeshlibs:
diff --git a/dist/redhat/python3/python.spec.mustache b/dist/redhat/python3/python.spec.mustache
index 8c35c23527..d0035c38c9 100644
--- a/dist/redhat/python3/python.spec.mustache
+++ b/dist/redhat/python3/python.spec.mustache
@@ -26,10 +26,7 @@ operate are shipped with it.
 %setup -q -c
 
 %install
-mkdir -p %{buildroot}/{{target}}
-cp -a ./ %{buildroot}/{{target}}
-rm -rf %{buildroot}/{{target}}/dist
-rm %{buildroot}/{{target}}/SCYLLA-*-FILE
+./install.sh --root "$RPM_BUILD_ROOT"
 
 %files
 %dir {{target}}
diff --git a/python3/install.sh b/python3/install.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..684f6ea266
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python3/install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2019 ScyllaDB
+#
+
+#
+# This file is part of Scylla.
+#
+# Scylla is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# Scylla is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Scylla.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+
+set -e
+
+print_usage() {
+    cat <<EOF
+Usage: install.sh [options]
+
+Options:
+  --root /path/to/root     alternative install root (default /)
+  --prefix /prefix         directory prefix (default /usr)
+  --nonroot                shortcut of '--disttype nonroot'
+  --help                   this helpful message
+EOF
+    exit 1
+}
+
+root=/
+nonroot=false
+
+while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
+    case "$1" in
+        "--root")
+            root="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        "--prefix")
+            prefix="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        "--nonroot")
+            nonroot=true
+            shift 1
+            ;;
+        "--help")
+            shift 1
+	    print_usage
+            ;;
+        *)
+            print_usage
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if [ -z "$prefix" ]; then
+    if $nonroot; then
+        prefix=~/scylladb
+    else
+        prefix=/opt/scylladb
+    fi
+fi
+
+rprefix=$(realpath -m "$root/$prefix")
+
+install -d -m755 "$rprefix"/python3/bin
+cp -r ./bin/* "$rprefix"/python3/bin
+install -d -m755 "$rprefix"/python3/lib64
+cp -r ./lib64/* "$rprefix"/python3/lib64
+install -d -m755 "$rprefix"/python3/libexec
+cp -r ./libexec/* "$rprefix"/python3/libexec
+install -d -m755 "$rprefix"/python3/licenses
+cp -r ./licenses/* "$rprefix"/python3/licenses
diff --git a/scripts/create-relocatable-package-python3.py b/scripts/create-relocatable-package-python3.py
index dd526d3e59..07bc8c49ba 100755
--- a/scripts/create-relocatable-package-python3.py
+++ b/scripts/create-relocatable-package-python3.py
@@ -235,6 +235,7 @@ ar.add('dist/debian/python3')
 ar.add('build/python3/SCYLLA-RELEASE-FILE', arcname='SCYLLA-RELEASE-FILE')
 ar.add('build/python3/SCYLLA-VERSION-FILE', arcname='SCYLLA-VERSION-FILE')
 ar.add('build/SCYLLA-PRODUCT-FILE', arcname='SCYLLA-PRODUCT-FILE')
+ar.add('python3/install.sh', arcname='install.sh')
 for p in ['pyhton3-libs'] + packages:
     pdir = pathlib.Path('/usr/share/licenses/{}/'.format(p))
     if pdir.exists():