About Us

PreLease SBC is a public benefit corporation based in the Twin Cities formed in 2022.

We provide renter support services to renters and offer Rental Health Insurance™ to landlords, where we can assist their tenants BEFORE they have a rental and financial emergency.

Our renter support services focus on housing stability, and housing mobility. Renters have access to the Rental Health Check™, a diagnostic tool that connects tenants to public resources, improves screening health, and comes with a free consultation. We provide housing search services to improve renters screening health, and expand available housing options. 

For landlords, evictions are expensive, time-consuming, and lead to heated discussions. With our Rental Health Insurance™  tenants receive regular monthly check-ins, which can reduce their rent burden, reduce stress, and access early emergency relief. This means reliable rent payments.
Currently, PreLease is in Lunar Startups Accelerator Cohort 6 and 2023 MN Cup semi-finalists. 

Meet the Team

Abu Nayeem

Abu Nayeem is a St. Paul resident, community organizer, and a lifelong renter. He has a Masters in Agricultural Resource Economics from UC Berkeley. He organized neighborhood cleanups in the Midway/Frogtown community, boardmember of Hamline Midway Coalition, and 2021 St. Paul mayoral candidate. He has engaged with many residents including tenants in both public and private housing.  He is the founder of the St. Paul Open Data Initiative, which takes public open data from local municipalities to create interactive community reports.


Abu has been a lifelong renter, and first generation immigrant that grew up in poverty in NYC. He has first-hand experience on the importance of housing stability for families and the tense relationship between tenants and landlords. For PreLease, we want to increase housing access for renters and cultivate a healthy partnership between the landlord, tenants, and the larger community.

Zachary Hurdle

I am a St. Paul resident, plant-based chef, and community entrepreneur. My experience with business building and management stems back to my experience at the University of St. Thomas. I was involved in the entrepreneurship program and as a result I decided to start a business called Campus Crew. We hired college students to work with residents in the Union Park neighborhood around the University, and eventually rebranded to Busy Bee doing the same type of work in the Twin Cities. 


As a result of this work, I have continued to feel a strong draw towards seeing the community around me improve. I think this can be done in many ways, and housing is one. With PreLease, I hope to add to the conversation around housing, uplift and empower tenants throughout the rental process, and create mechanisms of accountability.

Liam Mueller

I’m a recent graduate (Spring 2022) of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Urban Studies and a minor in Japanese. I am passionate about Community Development, Transportation, Housing, and Planning, with hopes to improve accessibility in and around the Twin Cities area. I am excited to be a part of the PreLease team, hoping to further my knowledge of housing laws and regulations, get to know specific housing agencies in the area, as well as being a part of a project that I believe is going to change the culture of renting and owning properties for the better.