It may not even be feasible to increase the residential occupant load of the buildings based on how the subject buildings construction is classified, number of means of egress, widths of egress, etc etc etc, Yada, yada, yada...~ OR ~You could hire a Registered Architect who could provide you with a professional feasibility study and report regarding your modification proposal that would take the above factors into considerations and give you a sharper insight of what you can and cannot do.  

The city council has a strong socialist mentality and is extremely anti-landlord.

You're under contract to buy a residential property, not a business; there is no guarantee of income under any circumstances.  

Title update 👉 COVID-19 With several residential rental properties in North Georgia I'm curious to hear from other landlords in Georgia and other areas on how they are helping tenants while at the same time protecting their investment. 

I know that there will be an upcoming slump in the residential home sales market, but I recognize that there should also be new opportunities emerging for enterprising entrepreneurs like myself.

What I’m unsure of in Canada is if they count 5 separate houses commercial or residential.

@Robin Morales the housing market will drop when the mortgage market freezes.If they defer all residential mortgage payments too long, that will cause liquidity to drop significantly on the lending side.

https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2020-nar-flash-survey-economic-pulse-coronavirus-residential-03-12-2020.pdfThere was an open house in my neighborhood last weekend and the cars were lined up on the curb. 

Any property that has a significant mortgage will take time to unwind.PS#3:  Residential rental market recovers fairly quickly. 

There are also churches, SBA loans, housing agencies such as Residential Assistance to Families in Transition (RAFT), friends, etc.