Area of land held.

No definition available.

Name:	us-gaap_AreaOfLand
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:areaItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Area of a real estate property.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AreaOfRealEstateProperty
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:areaItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 323
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114001798&loc=d3e33918-111571

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentOwnershipPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The parent entity's interest in net assets of the subsidiary, expressed as a percentage.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_MinorityInterestOwnershipPercentageByParent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The number of real estate properties owned as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfRealEstateProperties
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The number of units in a real estate property owned as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfUnitsInRealEstateProperty
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RealEstatePropertiesLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=arl_CommericalPropertyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=srt_OfficeBuildingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=srt_RetailSiteMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=srt_ApartmentBuildingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=us-gaap_LandAndLandImprovementsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis=us-gaap_CorporateJointVentureMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_OwnershipAxis=arl_AmericanRealtyInvestorsIncMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=arl_RelatedPartyEntitiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis=us-gaap_MajorityShareholderMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_OwnershipAxis=arl_TranscontinentalRealtyInvestorsIncMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
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Organization (Details)	Jun. 30, 2021 a ft² property apartment	Jun. 30, 2020
Commercial Properties
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties	6
Area (sq ft) \| ft²	1,575,685
Office Building
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties	5
Retail Site
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties	1
Apartment Building
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties	9
Number of units in real estate property \| apartment	1,492
Land and Land Improvements
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Area of land (acres) \| a	1,841
VAA
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Number of units in real estate property \| apartment	10,032
Percentage of ownership in VAA	50.00%
VAA \| Apartment Building
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties	52
ARL \| Related Party Entities \| Majority shareholder
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Ownership interest	90.00%
TCI
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Ownership interest	78.40%	78.40%