A teetotaller, I see, is well up in housing (5)
I believe the answer is:
attic
'well up in housing' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'a teetotaller i see' is the wordplay.
'teetotaller' becomes 'tt' (abbreviation).
'see' becomes 'C' (the word for the letter, according to Chambers).
'a'+'tt'+'i'+'c'='ATTIC'
'is' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for attic that I've seen before include "from Greece" , "Ancient Greek dialect - top room" , "Top apartment" , "Loft room" , "Lofty room" .)