Line of Credit - Narrative (Details) - Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility - Line of Credit		3 Months Ended
Sep. 20, 2018 USD ($) loan term institution	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 500,000,000.0
Number of financial institutions \| institution	4
Maximum borrowing capacity, per lender	$ 125,000,000.0
Number of extension periods \| term	2
Extension period	12 months
Additional borrowing capacity	$ 250,000,000.0
Unused commitment fee, percentage	0.20%
Unused borrowing capacity, fee		$ 800,000
Line of credit, loans outstanding		$ 190,000,000
Eurodollar Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Minimum funding requirement	$ 5,000,000.0
Line of credit, term (or less)	12 months
Maximum active loan limit \| loan	5
Eurodollar Loan \| Minimum \| Adjusted LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	0.85%
Eurodollar Loan \| Maximum \| Adjusted LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.05%
Alternate Base Rate Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Minimum funding requirement	$ 5,000,000.0
Alternate Base Rate Loan \| Adjusted LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.00%
Alternate Base Rate Loan \| Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	0.50%

Debt Instrument, Maximum Active Loan Limit

No definition available.

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- Definition

Line Of Credit Facility, Extension Period

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility (per lender) without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	tiaareal_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line Of Credit Facility, Minimum Funding Requirement

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	tiaareal_
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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line Of Credit Facility, Number Of Extension Periods

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Line Of Credit Facility, Number Of Financial Institutions

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Line of Credit Facility, Accordion Feature, Increase Limit

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
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Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Percentage points added to the reference rate to compute the variable rate on the debt instrument.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Period of time between issuance and maturity of debt instrument, in PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of commitment fees for the unused borrowing capacity under the long-term financing arrangement that is available to the entity.

+ References

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
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Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The carrying value as of the balance sheet date of the current and noncurrent portions of long-term obligations drawn from a line of credit, which is a bank's commitment to make loans up to a specific amount. Examples of items that might be included in the application of this element may consist of letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and revolving credit arrangements, under which borrowings can be made up to a maximum amount as of any point in time conditional on satisfaction of specified terms before, as of and after the date of drawdowns on the line. Includes short-term obligations that would normally be classified as current liabilities but for which (a) postbalance sheet date issuance of a long term obligation to refinance the short term obligation on a long term basis, or (b) the enterprise has entered into a financing agreement that clearly permits the enterprise to refinance the short-term obligation on a long term basis and the following conditions are met (1) the agreement does not expire within 1 year and is not cancelable by the lender except for violation of an objectively determinable provision, (2) no violation exists at the BS date, and (3) the lender has entered into the financing agreement is expected to be financially capable of honoring the agreement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(22))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=119400593&loc=d3e572229-122910

+ Details

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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The fee, expressed as a percentage of the line of credit facility, for the line of credit facility regardless of whether the facility has been used.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

+ References

+ Details

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- Details

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- Details

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- Details

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