CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Operating Activities:
Net income	$ 126,319	$ 94,557
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	410,440	399,955
Share-based compensation expense	12,293	13,847
Amortization of deferred leasing costs	8,830	7,708
Amortization of deferred financing costs	18,153	29,386
Amortization of debt discounts	4,077	6,026
Provisions for impairment	4,202	11,289
Gain on sale of property, net of tax	(41,473)	(64,556)
Change in fair value of derivative instruments	4,410	2,010
Other non-cash amounts included in net income	1,814	883
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Other assets, net	(22,300)	(4,218)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	82,971	95,748
Resident security deposits	8,084	28
Other liabilities	7,852	(1,815)
Net cash provided by operating activities	625,672	590,848
Investing Activities:
Amounts deposited and held by others	(4,046)	(5,572)
Acquisition of single-family residential properties	(337,415)	(405,142)
Initial renovations to single-family residential properties	(71,666)	(35,017)
Other capital expenditures for single-family residential properties	(127,702)	(118,423)
Proceeds from sale of single-family residential properties	338,486	493,224
Repayment proceeds from retained debt securities	8,133	40,034
Other investing activities	(165)	4,325
Net cash used in investing activities	(194,375)	(26,571)
Financing Activities:
Payment of dividends and dividend equivalents	(247,651)	(206,764)
Distributions to non-controlling interests	(1,603)	(2,610)
Payment of taxes related to net share settlement of RSUs	(3,373)	(8,164)
Payments on mortgage loans	(157,791)	(798,415)
Proceeds from secured term loan	0	403,464
Payments on secured term loan	(101)	0
Proceeds from revolving facility	320,000	215,000
Payments on revolving facility	(320,000)	(215,000)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net	503,798	17,737
Deferred financing costs paid	0	(2,613)
Other financing activities	(1,913)	(490)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	91,366	(597,855)
Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	522,663	(33,578)
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period (Note 4)	286,245	359,991
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period (Note 4)	808,908	326,413
Supplemental cash flow disclosures:
Interest paid, net of amounts capitalized	236,714	249,085
Cash paid for income taxes	1,284	2,320
Operating cash flows from operating leases	4,117	4,056
Financing cash flows from finance leases	1,714	379
Noncash Investing and Financing Items [Abstract]
Accrued renovation improvements at period end	6,273	5,724
Accrued residential property capital improvements at period end	10,677	15,429
Transfer of residential property, net to other assets, net for held for sale assets	134,361	490,397
Change in other comprehensive loss from cash flow hedges	(328,472)	(333,135)
ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities	4,617	1,721
ROU assets obtained in exchange for finance lease liabilities	9,484	0
Net settlement of 2019 Convertible Notes in shares of common stock	$ 0	$ 229,944