Dry-eyed request for rent reduction? (8)
I believe the answer is:
tearless
'dry-eyed' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'rent reduction?' is the wordplay.
'rent' becomes 'tear' (synonyms).
'reduction?' becomes 'less' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'tear'+'less'='TEARLESS'
'request for' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tearless that I've seen before include "without displaying sorrow" , "Dry" , "betraying no emotion" , "stiff upper lip" .)