Gloomy when leaving hapless homeowners (6)
I believe the answer is:
morose
'gloomy' is the definition.
(morose means gloomy or sad)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for morose that I've seen before include "Silent, gloomy and ill-tempered" , "Sullen and moody" , "blue" , "Rarely" , "Lugubrious" .)