Equity, Capital and Other Interests (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Common shares and units rollforward

The following tables present the changes in the Company’s issued and outstanding Common Shares and “Units” (which includes OP Units and restricted units (formerly known as Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) Units)) for the quarter ended March 31, 2015:

	2015
Common Shares
Common Shares outstanding at January 1,	362,855,454
Common Shares Issued:
Conversion of OP Units	154,050
Exercise of share options	770,012
Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP)	30,151
Restricted share grants, net	158,753
Common Shares outstanding at March 31,	363,968,420
Units
Units outstanding at January 1,	14,298,691
Restricted units, net	333,304
Conversion of OP Units to Common Shares	(154,050	)
Units outstanding at March 31,	14,477,945
Total Common Shares and Units outstanding at March 31,	378,446,365
Units Ownership Interest in Operating Partnership	3.8	%

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest [Table Text Block]

The following table presents the changes in the redemption value of the Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests – Operating Partnership for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 (amounts in thousands):

	2015
Balance at January 1,	$	500,733
Change in market value	41,763
Change in carrying value	(630		)
Balance at March 31,	$	541,866

Schedule Of Preferred Stock [Table Text Block]

The following table presents the Company’s issued and outstanding Preferred Shares as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:

				Amounts in thousands
	Redemption Date (1)	Annual Dividend per Share (2)		March 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Preferred Shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized:
8.29% Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred; liquidation value $50 per share; 803,600 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2015 and 1,000,000 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2014 (3)	12/10/26		$4.145	$	40,180	$	50,000
				$	40,180	$	50,000

(1) On or after the redemption date, redeemable preferred shares may be redeemed for cash at the option of the Company, in whole or

in part, at a redemption price equal to the liquidation price per share, plus accrued and unpaid distributions, if any.

(2) Dividends on Preferred Shares are payable quarterly.

(3) Effective January 26, 2015, the Company repurchased and retired 196,400 Series K Preferred Shares with a par value of $9.82 million for total cash consideration of approximately $12.7 million. As a result of this partial redemption, the Company incurred a cash charge of approximately $2.8 million which was recorded as a premium on the redemption of Preferred Shares.

Limited Partner [Member]

Common shares and units rollforward

The following tables present the changes in the Operating Partnership’s issued and outstanding Units and in the limited partners’ Units for the quarter ended March 31, 2015:

	2015
General and Limited Partner Units
General and Limited Partner Units outstanding at January 1,	377,154,145
Issued to General Partner:
Exercise of EQR share options	770,012
EQR’s Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP)	30,151
EQR's restricted share grants, net	158,753
Issued to Limited Partners:
Restricted units, net	333,304
General and Limited Partner Units outstanding at March 31,	378,446,365
Limited Partner Units
Limited Partner Units outstanding at January 1,	14,298,691
Limited Partner restricted units, net	333,304
Conversion of Limited Partner OP Units to EQR Common Shares	(154,050	)
Limited Partner Units outstanding at March 31,	14,477,945
Limited Partner Units Ownership Interest in Operating Partnership	3.8	%

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest [Table Text Block]

The following table presents the changes in the redemption value of the Redeemable Limited Partners for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 (amounts in thousands):

	2015
Balance at January 1,	$	500,733
Change in market value	41,763
Change in carrying value	(630		)
Balance at March 31,	$	541,866

Schedule Of Preferred Stock [Table Text Block]

The following table presents the Operating Partnership’s issued and outstanding “Preference Units” as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:

				Amounts in thousands
	Redemption Date (1)	Annual Dividend per Unit (2)		March 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Preference Units:
8.29% Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preference Units; liquidation value $50 per unit; 803,600 units issued and outstanding at March 31, 2015 and 1,000,000 units issued and outstanding at December 31, 2014 (3)	12/10/26		$4.145	$	40,180	$	50,000
				$	40,180	$	50,000

(1) On or after the redemption date, redeemable preference units may be redeemed for cash at the option of the Operating Partnership, in whole or in part, at a redemption price equal to the liquidation price per unit, plus accrued and unpaid distributions, if any, in conjunction with the concurrent redemption of the corresponding Company Preferred Shares.

(2) Dividends on Preference Units are payable quarterly.

(3) Effective January 26, 2015, the Operating Partnership repurchased and retired 196,400 Series K Preference Units with a par value of $9.82 million for total cash consideration of approximately $12.7 million, in conjunction with the concurrent redemption of the corresponding Company Preferred Shares. As a result of this partial redemption, the Operating Partnership incurred a cash charge of approximately $2.8 million which was recorded as a premium on the redemption of Preference Units.