Rent provided by tenant earlier (4)
I believe the answer is:
tear
'rent' is the definition.
(I know that rent can be written as tear)
'provided by tenant earlier' is the wordplay.
'provided by' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (the answer is provided within the clue).
'TEAR' can be found hidden inside 'tenant earlier'.
(Other definitions for tear that I've seen before include "A drop of sadness" , "A rip goes on a binge?" , "Split - career" , "A globule of eye moisture" , "A rip and a sign of sadness" .)