Consolidated Statements Of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Rental revenue	$ 556,363	$ 484,203	$ 415,184
Other income	2,076	3,095	9,039
Mortgage and other financing income	142,292	88,693	69,019
Total revenue	700,731	575,991	493,242
Property operating expense	30,756	31,653	22,602
Other expense	443	242	5
General and administrative expense	48,889	43,383	37,543
Severance expense	5,938	0	0
Litigation settlement expense	2,090	0	0
Costs associated with loan refinancing or payoff	31,958	1,549	905
Gain on Extinguishment of Debt	0	(977)	0
Interest expense, net	135,507	133,124	97,144
Transaction costs	3,698	523	7,869
Impairment charges	27,283	10,195	0
Depreciation and amortization	153,430	132,946	107,573
Income before equity in income from joint ventures and other items	260,739	223,353	219,601
Equity in (loss) income from joint ventures	(22)	72	619
Gain on sale of real estate	3,037	41,942	5,315
gain on sale of investment in direct financing lease	5,514	0	0
Income before income taxes	269,268	265,367	225,535
Income tax expense	(2,285)	(2,399)	(553)
Net income attributable to EPR Properties	266,983	262,968	224,982
Preferred dividend requirements	(24,142)	(24,293)	(23,806)
Preferred Share Redemption Costs	0	4,457	0
Net income available to common shareholders of EPR Properties	$ 242,841	$ 234,218	$ 201,176
Basic earnings per share data:
Net income available to common shareholders	$ 3.27	$ 3.29	$ 3.17
Diluted earnings per share data:
Net income available to common shareholders	$ 3.27	$ 3.29	$ 3.17
Shares used for computation (in thousands):
Basic	74,292	71,191	63,381
Diluted	74,337	71,254	63,474