Investments in Partially Owned Entities (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Feb. 27, 2013 USD ($)
Partially Owned Property Balance Sheet Schedule
Properties	302
Apartment Units	77,458
ASSETS
Investment in real estate	$ 25,386,425,000	$ 25,182,352,000
Accumulated depreciation	(5,360,389,000)	(4,905,406,000)
Investment in real estate, net	20,026,036,000	20,276,946,000
Cash and cash equivalents	77,207,000	42,276,000	$ 40,080,000	$ 53,534,000
Investments in unconsolidated entities	60,141,000	68,101,000
Deposits – restricted	76,946,000	55,893,000
Other assets	398,883,000	428,899,000
Total assets	20,704,148,000	23,110,196,000
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Secured Debt	4,119,181,000	4,685,134,000
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	147,482,000	187,124,000
Accrued interest payable	60,946,000	85,221,000
Other liabilities	350,466,000	366,387,000
Security deposits	62,624,000	77,582,000
Total liabilities	9,801,072,000	11,847,058,000
Partially Owned Properties	10,609,000	4,608,000
Total liabilities and equity/capital	20,704,148,000	23,110,196,000
Partially Owned Property Income Statement Schedule
Operating revenue	2,425,800,000	2,744,965,000	2,614,748,000
Property management	82,015,000	86,206,000	85,065,000
General and administrative/other	57,840,000	64,664,000	50,679,000
Depreciation	705,649,000	765,895,000	758,861,000
Operating income	856,086,000	1,009,238,000	921,644,000
Interest and other income	65,773,000	7,372,000	4,462,000
Other expenses	(10,368,000)	(2,942,000)	(9,073,000)
Interest:
Expense incurred, net	(482,246,000)	(444,487,000)	(457,460,000)
Amortization of deferred financing costs	(12,633,000)	(10,801,000)	(11,088,000)
Income before income and other taxes, income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities, net gain (loss) on sales of real estate properties and land parcels and discontinued operations	416,612,000	558,380,000	448,485,000
Income and other tax (expense) benefit	(1,613,000)	(917,000)	(1,394,000)
Income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities	4,801,000	15,025,000	(7,952,000)
Net income	$ 4,480,104,000	$ 908,018,000	658,683,000
Investments In Partially Owned Entities (Textuals) [Abstract]
Disposed Properties	99	8
Apartment Units	29,776	1,857
Net gain on sales of real estate properties	$ 4,044,055,000	$ 335,134,000	$ 212,685,000
Consolidated VIE
Partially Owned Property Balance Sheet Schedule
Properties	17
Apartment Units	3,215
ASSETS
Investment in real estate	$ 646,320,000
Accumulated depreciation	(211,038,000)
Investment in real estate, net	435,282,000
Cash and cash equivalents	30,271,000
Investments in unconsolidated entities	46,908,000
Deposits – restricted	345,000
Other assets	26,203,000
Total assets	539,009,000
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Secured Debt	301,110,000
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	1,088,000
Accrued interest payable	1,037,000
Other liabilities	600,000
Security deposits	1,850,000
Total liabilities	305,685,000
Partially Owned Properties	10,609,000
Company equity/General and Limited Partners' Capital	222,715,000
Total equity/capital	233,324,000
Total liabilities and equity/capital	539,009,000
Partially Owned Property Income Statement Schedule
Operating revenue	90,634,000
Operating Expenses	21,647,000
Net operating income	68,987,000
Property management	3,190,000
General and administrative/other	328,000
Depreciation	20,764,000
Operating income	44,705,000
Interest and other income	53,000
Other expenses	(8,000)
Interest:
Expense incurred, net	(13,857,000)
Amortization of deferred financing costs	(345,000)
Income before income and other taxes, income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities, net gain (loss) on sales of real estate properties and land parcels and discontinued operations	30,548,000
Income and other tax (expense) benefit	(73,000)
Income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities	(1,439,000)
Net income	$ 29,036,000
Unconsolidated Non-VIE
Partially Owned Property Balance Sheet Schedule
Properties	2
Apartment Units	945
ASSETS
Investment in real estate	$ 235,821,000
Accumulated depreciation	(32,881,000)
Investment in real estate, net	202,940,000
Cash and cash equivalents	5,287,000
Investments in unconsolidated entities	0
Deposits – restricted	262,000
Other assets	157,000
Total assets	208,646,000
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Secured Debt	145,424,000
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	189,000
Accrued interest payable	691,000
Other liabilities	268,000
Security deposits	493,000
Total liabilities	147,065,000
Partially Owned Properties	59,115,000
Company equity/General and Limited Partners' Capital	2,466,000
Total equity/capital	61,581,000
Total liabilities and equity/capital	208,646,000
Partially Owned Property Income Statement Schedule
Operating revenue	26,615,000
Operating Expenses	9,088,000
Net operating income	17,527,000
Property management	776,000
General and administrative/other	2,000
Depreciation	10,510,000
Operating income	6,239,000
Interest and other income	0
Other expenses	0
Interest:
Expense incurred, net	(8,289,000)
Amortization of deferred financing costs	(1,000)
Income before income and other taxes, income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities, net gain (loss) on sales of real estate properties and land parcels and discontinued operations	(2,051,000)
Income and other tax (expense) benefit	(13,000)
Income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities	0
Net income	(2,064,000)
Unconsolidated Non-VIE | Legacy JV [Domain]
Investments In Partially Owned Entities (Textuals) [Abstract]
Liquidation Value Preferred Interests	39,900,000
Unconsolidated Non-VIE | Residual JV [Domain]
ASSETS
Investments in unconsolidated entities	$ 1,100,000				$ 147,600,000
Investments In Partially Owned Entities (Textuals) [Abstract]
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired	60.00%
Unconsolidated VIE
Partially Owned Property Balance Sheet Schedule
Properties	0
Apartment Units	0
ASSETS
Investment in real estate	$ 172,995,000
Accumulated depreciation	(44,544,000)
Investment in real estate, net	128,451,000
Cash and cash equivalents	47,000
Investments in unconsolidated entities	0
Deposits – restricted	0
Other assets	334,000
Total assets	128,832,000
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Secured Debt	0
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	135,000
Accrued interest payable	0
Other liabilities	70,000
Security deposits	0
Total liabilities	205,000
Partially Owned Properties	86,120,000
Company equity/General and Limited Partners' Capital	42,507,000
Total equity/capital	128,627,000
Total liabilities and equity/capital	128,832,000
Partially Owned Property Income Statement Schedule
Operating revenue	5,214,000
Operating Expenses	2,023,000
Net operating income	3,191,000
Property management	75,000
General and administrative/other	81,000
Depreciation	5,501,000
Operating income	(2,466,000)
Interest and other income	0
Other expenses	0
Interest:
Expense incurred, net	0
Amortization of deferred financing costs	0
Income before income and other taxes, income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities, net gain (loss) on sales of real estate properties and land parcels and discontinued operations	(2,466,000)
Income and other tax (expense) benefit	0
Income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities	0
Net income	$ (2,466,000)
Partially Owned Properties – Consolidated
Partially Owned Property Balance Sheet Schedule
Properties	17
Apartment Units	3,215
Investments In Partially Owned Entities (Textuals) [Abstract]
Disposed Properties	2
Apartment Units	556
Net gain on sales of real estate properties	$ 54,300,000
Partially Owned Properties – Unconsolidated
Partially Owned Property Balance Sheet Schedule
Properties	2
Apartment Units	945
ASSETS
Investment in real estate	$ 408,816,000
Accumulated depreciation	(77,425,000)
Investment in real estate, net	331,391,000
Cash and cash equivalents	5,334,000
Investments in unconsolidated entities	0
Deposits – restricted	262,000
Other assets	491,000
Total assets	337,478,000
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Secured Debt	145,424,000
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	324,000
Accrued interest payable	691,000
Other liabilities	338,000
Security deposits	493,000
Total liabilities	147,270,000
Partially Owned Properties	145,235,000
Company equity/General and Limited Partners' Capital	44,973,000
Total equity/capital	190,208,000
Total liabilities and equity/capital	337,478,000
Partially Owned Property Income Statement Schedule
Operating revenue	31,829,000
Operating Expenses	11,111,000
Net operating income	20,718,000
Property management	851,000
General and administrative/other	83,000
Depreciation	16,011,000
Operating income	3,773,000
Interest and other income	0
Other expenses	0
Interest:
Expense incurred, net	(8,289,000)
Amortization of deferred financing costs	(1,000)
Income before income and other taxes, income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities, net gain (loss) on sales of real estate properties and land parcels and discontinued operations	(4,517,000)
Income and other tax (expense) benefit	(13,000)
Income (loss) from investments in unconsolidated entities	0
Net income	$ (4,530,000)
Investments In Partially Owned Entities (Textuals) [Abstract]
Disposed Properties	1
Apartment Units	336
Net gain on sales of real estate properties	$ 8,900,000