diff --git a/src/MarkdownSharp/Markdown.cs b/src/MarkdownSharp/Markdown.cs
index d67b50c..4dbf336 100644
--- a/src/MarkdownSharp/Markdown.cs
+++ b/src/MarkdownSharp/Markdown.cs
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ public class MarkdownOptions
         /// <summary>
         /// use ">" for HTML output, or " />" for XHTML output
         /// </summary>
-        public string EmptyElementSuffix { get; set; }
+        public string EmptyElementSuffix { get; set; } = " />";
 
         /// <summary>
         /// when false, email addresses will never be auto-linked  
diff --git a/tests/MarkdownSharp.Tests/ConfigTest.cs b/tests/MarkdownSharp.Tests/ConfigTest.cs
index cb833da..50b7c6f 100644
--- a/tests/MarkdownSharp.Tests/ConfigTest.cs
+++ b/tests/MarkdownSharp.Tests/ConfigTest.cs
@@ -57,6 +57,19 @@ public void TestAutoNewLines()
             Assert.Equal("<p>Line1<br />\nLine2</p>\n", markdown.Transform("Line1\nLine2"));
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        public void TestDefaultOptions()
+        {
+            var markdownWithoutOptions = new Markdown();
+            Assert.Equal(" />", markdownWithoutOptions.EmptyElementSuffix);
+
+            var markdownWithOptions = new Markdown(new MarkdownOptions { });
+            Assert.Equal(" />", markdownWithOptions.EmptyElementSuffix);
+
+            var options = new MarkdownOptions { };
+            Assert.Equal(" />", options.EmptyElementSuffix);
+        }
+
         [Fact]
         public void TestEmptyElementSuffix()
         {