Real Estate Acquisitions , Pro Forma Information (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013		Mar. 31, 2012
Acquisitions - 2011 [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Management fees			$ 100,000
Acquisitions - 2012 [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total revenues	105,023,000	[1]	95,604,000	[1]
Net income attributable to Sun Communities, Inc. shareholders	$ 7,330,000	[1]	$ 9,251,000	[1]
Net income attributable to Sun Communities, Inc. shareholders - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.24	[1]	$ 0.36	[1]
Net income attributable to Sun Communities, Inc. shareholders - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.24	[1]	$ 0.36	[1]

[1] (1) Below are nonrecurring expenses that have been adjusted for the pro forma results above: (a) Certain sellers had management fees of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 that have been excluded from above as these fees will not continue going forward. (b) Transaction costs related to the acquisitions are not expected to have a continuing impact and therefore have been excluded from 2013 and included in 2012 for acquisitions completed in 2013.