The Tianzifang Management Office plans to transform the homes of longtime residents of the cultural and creative park in Huangpu district into hotel rooms for tourists, local media reported Monday.

The plan aims to resolve the ongoing disputes between Tianzifang's residents and business owners, while giving the residents the opportunity to earn money off their properties, said Zhou Xinliang, an employee with the Tianzifang Management Office.

About 550 of the 672 households that originally owned homes in the neighborhood have rented out their properties to commercial or residential tenants, Zhou said. But 80 owners have continued to reside in Tianzifang following its transformation.

The average home in Tianzifang is about 20 square meters, so the Tianzifang Management Office plans to rent 216 homes from their owners, including the 80 who still reside there, and renovate them into hotel rooms designed for overseas tourists, Zhou said.

The company will offer to pay the owner of a 20-square-meter home 6,000 yuan ($970) per month to rent the property.

The owners who still reside in their homes pose one potential obstacle to the plan, Zhou said. They could refuse to move out because they think the rent is too low.

Some property owners do think the rent is too low. "It costs more than 20,000 yuan to rent a 20-square-meter shop in this area," said a resident surnamed Sun, who owns a 60-square-meter home in Tianzifang. "I won't move out unless I receive a higher rent," Sun said.

Another resident surnamed Li said he did not want to live an unstable life renting an apartment elsewhere. "I will only move out if the government gives me another apartment," he said.

In 2008, a Taiwanese businessman started a business that was similar to what the Tianzifang Management Office is now planning, Zhou said. He rented six homes for a total of 24,000 yuan per month and then charged tourists between 260 yuan to 400 yuan each day to stay in them.

The six rooms could not meet the demand of tourists, Zhou said.

The business closed in 2010 because government regulations prohibit hotels from operating in residential areas, Zhou said.

Still, the Tianzifang Management Office has applied to the Huangpu district government for approval to open hotels in the area, Zhou said. If the government approves the application, the company plans to start renting out rooms by the end of this year.