Made rents change for shopkeepers (9)
I believe the answer is:
tradesmen
'for shopkeepers' is the definition.
('tradesman' can be a synonym of 'shopkeeper')
'made rents change' is the wordplay.
'change' indicates an anagram.
'made'+'rents'='maderents'
'maderents' is an anagram of 'TRADESMEN'.
(Other definitions for tradesmen that I've seen before include "one in business" , "Retailers" , "People selling things" , "Smartened (anag.)" , "Shopkeepers" .)