Earnest request: sort out rent, tea and front of yard (8)
I believe the answer is:
entreaty
'earnest request' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'sort out rent tea and front of yard' is the wordplay.
'sort out' indicates an anagram.
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'front of' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'yard' is 'y'.
'rent'+'tea'='renttea'
'renttea' anagrammed gives 'entreat'.
'entreat'+'y'='ENTREATY'
(Other definitions for entreaty that I've seen before include "Supplication" , "Earnest plea" , "Appeal" , "application for assistance" , "Earnest or urgent request" .)