Lady the lender houses (5)
I believe the answer is:
helen
'lady' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'the lender houses' is the wordplay.
'houses' indicates a hidden word (part of the clue houses the answer).
'HELEN' can be found hidden inside 'the lender'.
(Other definitions for helen that I've seen before include "Greek woman famed for beauty" , "Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships?" , "legendary Greek figure" , "-- Mirren, English actress" , "Beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris" .)