Rents dilapidated part of ship (5)
I believe the answer is:
stern
'part of ship' is the definition.
(I know that stern is part of ship)
'rents dilapidated' is the wordplay.
'dilapidated' indicates anagramming the letters.
'rents' is an anagram of 'STERN'.
(Other definitions for stern that I've seen before include "discipline" , "Grimly serious; back" , "Unsmiling" , "Grim, strict" , "Severe, forbidding" .)