Elected to rent in bay (5)
I believe the answer is:
inlet
'bay' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'elected to rent' is the wordplay.
'elected' becomes 'in'.
'to rent' becomes 'let' ('let' can be a synonym of 'rent').
'in'+'let'='INLET'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for inlet that I've seen before include "Gulf" , "Means of entry" , "Fiord" , "A small creek or cove" , "An entrance or opening" .)