Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Revenues:
Rental income	$ 1,598,948	$ 1,405,767	$ 1,227,589
Resident fees and services	2,158,031	1,892,237	1,616,290
Interest income	84,141	37,667	32,663
Other income	18,706	7,875	4,066
Total revenues	3,859,826	3,343,546	2,880,608
Expenses:
Interest expense	492,169	481,039	458,360
Property operating expenses	1,622,257	1,403,358	1,206,813
Depreciation and amortization	826,240	844,130	865,800
General and administrative	147,416	142,943	108,318
Transaction costs	110,926	69,538	133,401
Loss (gain) on derivatives, net	(58,427)	(1,495)	4,470
Loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt, net	34,677	9,558	(909)
Provision for loan losses	0	0	2,110
Impairment of Asset	2,220	0	0
Other expenses	46,231	10,262	0
Total expenses	3,223,709	2,959,333	2,778,363
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and income from unconsolidated entities	636,117	384,213	102,245
Income tax (expense) benefit	(6,451)	1,267	(7,491)
(Loss) income from unconsolidated entities	(21,504)	(27,426)	(8,187)
Income from continuing operations	608,162	358,054	86,567
Discontinued operations:
Gain (loss) on sales of properties, net	0	6,411	49,138
Income (loss) from discontinued operations	0	724	2,575
Discontinued operations, net	0	7,135	51,713
Gain (loss) on real estate dispositions, net	280,387	147,111	0
Net income	888,549	512,300	138,280
Less: Preferred stock dividends	65,406	65,408	66,336
Net Income Loss Attributable To Noncontrolling Interest	4,799	147	(6,770)
Net income attributable to common stockholders	$ 818,344	$ 446,745	$ 78,714
Average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic	348,240,000	306,272,000	276,929,000
Diluted	349,424,000	307,747,000	278,761,000
Basic:
Income from continuing operations attributable to common stockholders including real estate dispositions	$ 2.35	$ 1.44	$ 0.1
Discontinued operations, net	0	0.02	0.19
Basic earnings per share	2.35	1.46	0.28
Diluted:
Income from continuing operations attributable to common stockholders including real estate dispositions	2.34	1.43	0.1
Discontinued operations, net	0	0.02	0.19
Diluted earnings per share	$ 2.34	$ 1.45	$ 0.28