Borrowing Arrangements - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended			9 Months Ended			12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012 integer	Dec. 31, 2011 integer Rate	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum	Dec. 31, 2011 Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum	Dec. 31, 2011 Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Old Credit Facilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Business Acquisition Liability Assumed integer	Dec. 31, 2011 Business Acquisition Liability Assumed Minimum	Dec. 31, 2011 Business Acquisition Liability Assumed Maximum	Jul. 31, 2012 Amended Line Of Credit Facility [Member]	Jul. 31, 2012 Amended Line Of Credit Facility [Member] Minimum Rate	Jul. 31, 2012 Amended Line Of Credit Facility [Member] Maximum Rate	Sep. 30, 2012 OriginalLineOfCreditFacitlity [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 OriginalLineOfCreditFacitlity [Member] Minimum Rate	Sep. 30, 2012 OriginalLineOfCreditFacitlity [Member] Maximum Rate	Dec. 31, 2012 Term Loans	Dec. 31, 2012 Term Loans Minimum Rate	Dec. 31, 2012 Term Loans Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Unsecured Debt	Dec. 31, 2011 Unsecured Debt	Dec. 31, 2011 Manufactured homes integer	Dec. 31, 2011 R V Resort [Member] integer	Dec. 31, 2011 Home Communities and Resort Properties	Dec. 31, 2012 Manufactured Home [Member] New Credit Facilities [Member] integer	Dec. 31, 2012 Manufactured Home [Member] Old Credit Facilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Recreational Vehicle Resort [Member] integer	Dec. 31, 2012 Recreational Vehicle Resort [Member] New Credit Facilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Recreational Vehicle Resort [Member] Old Credit Facilities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Mortgage notes payable			$ 2,069,866,000	$ 2,084,683,000
Mortgage debt assumed for the acquisition properties, fair value											548,000,000
Mortgage notes payable, weighted average interest rate			5.51%							5.79%													0.00%	3.90%			5.02%				5.098%	5.409%
Debt, minimum interest rate			3.90%	4.65%							4.65%
Debt, maturity year						2013	2012	2023	2023			2012	2023														2021	2022			2022
Debt, maximum interest rate			8.90%	8.87%							8.87%
Number of pledge properties			171	174						3	35														20	3		1		2
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage																												3.90%	5.69%
Carrying values of properties encumbered			2,494,000,000	2,578,000,000
Mortgage debt assumed for the acquisition properties, fair market value adjustment											34,000,000
New mortgage notes payable financing proceeds		200,000,000	159,500,000	200,000,000	76,615,000																							74,000,000			85,500,000
Amount of mortgages paid off during the period				52,500,000
Number of maturing mortgages				9
Mortgage note paid off, weighted average interest rate				7.04%
Debt instrument face amount																				200,000,000
Debt, maturity date																				Jun. 30, 2017									May 01, 2013			Jun. 01, 2014
Repayments of Long-term Debt										39,300,000																			35,100,000			63,300,000
Debt, extension option period																				1 year
Debt, percentage of prepayment penalty																				2.00%
Derivative, Remaining Maturity																				3 years
Lines of credit, borrowing capacity			380,000,000
Lines of credit, maturity date														Sep. 15, 2016			Sep. 18, 2015
Line of credit facility, interest rate based on a margin over LIBOR			the Company amended its LOC to (i) decrease the per annum interest rate to LIBOR plus a maximum of 1.40% to 2.00%, bearing a facility rate of 0.25% to 0.40%, (ii) extend the maturity of the LOC to September 15, 2016, (iii) lengthen the extension option to one year and (iv) effect other ministerial changes.
Line of Credit Facility, Initiation Date			Jul. 20, 2012
Lines of credit, commitment and arrangement fees	$ 1,300,000
Lines of credit, extension option period														1 year			0 years 8 months
Line of credit, facility fee																		0.30%	0.40%
Debt Instrument Interest Additional Interest Above London Interbank Offered Rate Rate															1.40%	2.00%		1.65%	2.50%		1.85%	2.80%
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate During Period															0.25%	0.40%
Start Date To Repay Debt Without Penalty On Prepayment																				Jul. 01, 2014