Landlords are never popular people because they, literally, extract rent. By rent and rent-seeking I mean the outcome that occurs when an entity seeks to gain added wealth without any reciprocal contribution of productivity.  Should a government pursuing re-election engage with this unpopular group and hand them money via tax credits, reductions in VAT, or other means? In this column, I’m going to argue that handing landlords more money in Budget 2024 is a mistake. It will not solve any problem in housing we actually have, and represents a transfer of funds to a deeply privileged group already in receipt…