ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Details)		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 item	Aug. 31, 1994 Initial public offering	Dec. 31, 2012 Operating Partnership	Dec. 31, 2011 Operating Partnership	Dec. 31, 2012 Home Properties Trust
Initial public offering of common stock (in shares)		5,408,000
Number of communities, owned	121
Number of apartments, owned	42,635
Percentage of ownership in partnership			83.20%	81.80%
Noncontrolling interest in partnership (as a percent)			16.80%	18.20%
Interest owned in Operating Partnership (as a percent)			1.00%
Percentage of holdings as limited partner					100.00%