Stockholders' Equity and Partners' Capital - Textuals (Details)			1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Feb. 18, 2016 $ / shares	Feb. 17, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares	May. 31, 2015 $ / shares shares	Feb. 28, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) $ / shares
Common Stock Dividends
Dividends declared (in usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 1.170	$ 1.155	$ 1.150
LTIP Units
Incentive Plan
Fair value of restricted common stock and restricted common stock units for which the restriction lapsed						$ 0	$ 300,000	$ 13,200,000
Number of forfeited units/shares | shares				225,000
Forfeited, weighted average grant date fair value (usd per share) | $ / shares				$ 20.00
LTIP Units | Listing Expenses
Incentive Plan
Compensation expense						0	0	3,200,000
Restricted Common Stock
Incentive Plan
Fair value of restricted common stock and restricted common stock units for which the restriction lapsed						$ 4,600,000	$ 900,000	1,400,000
Compensation expense								$ 2,500,000
Number of forfeited units/shares | shares						27,751	29,050
Forfeited, weighted average grant date fair value (usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 23.03	$ 20.28
Granted, weighted average grant date fair value (usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 26.52	$ 21.08	$ 20.98
Nonvested awards, total compensation cost not yet recognized						$ 4,300,000
Period for recognition						1 year 3 months 18 days
Restricted Common Stock | Listing Expenses
Incentive Plan
Compensation expense								$ 600,000
Restricted Common Stock | General and Administrative Expense
Incentive Plan
Compensation expense						$ 5,700,000	$ 4,400,000	$ 1,900,000
2006 Incentive Plan
Incentive Plan
Number of shares authorized | shares						5,000,000
Number of shares available for grant | shares						2,314,329
Subsequent Event
Common Stock Dividends
Dividends declared (in usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 0.295
Maximum | Restricted Common Stock
Incentive Plan
Service period						4 years
Minimum | Restricted Common Stock
Incentive Plan
Service period						3 years
At the Market
Common Stock Offerings
Number of shares issued and sold | shares						1,800,000
Sale of stock, average price per share (in usd per share) | $ / shares						$ 25.00
At the Market | Subsequent Event
Common Stock Offerings
Number of shares issued and sold | shares			3,400,000
Sale of stock, average price per share (in usd per share) | $ / shares			$ 27.25
Remaining amount of shares available for issuance		$ 206,800,000
At the Market | Maximum
Common Stock Offerings
Maximum amount of common stock authorized					$ 300,000,000
At the Market | Maximum | Subsequent Event
Common Stock Offerings
Maximum amount of common stock authorized			$ 300,000,000
Healthcare Trust of America Holdings, LP (HTALP)
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Dividend distribution ratio						1