Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements (Condensed Consolidating Statement Of Cash Flows) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Intercompany fee income (expense)	$ 0	$ 0
Interest income (expense) on intercompany receivable/payable	0	0
Net cash provided (used) by other operating activities	74,771	69,077
Net cash provided by operating activities	74,771	69,077
Acquisition of rental properties and other assets	(60,764)	(36,907)
Proceeds from sale of real estate	18,105	1,920
Investment in mortgage notes receivable	(67,057)	(53,659)
Proceeds from mortgage note receivable paydown	8,140	19,496
Investment in promissory notes receivable	554	0
Proceeds from Sale and Collection of Notes Receivable	1,599	0
Additions to properties under development	(100,184)	(61,765)
Advances to subsidiaries, net	0	0
Net cash used by investing activities	(200,715)	(130,915)
Proceeds from long-term debt facilities	175,000	162,000
Principal payments on long-term debt	(45,331)	(148,586)
Deferred financing fees paid	(33)	(36)
Costs associated with loan refinancing or payoff (cash portion)	(1)	(472)
Net proceeds from issuance of common shares	68,141	125,199
Impact of stock option exercises, net	(138)	(635)
Purchase of common shares for treasury	(6,729)	(4,208)
Dividends paid to shareholders	(69,856)	(64,823)
Net cash provided by financing activities	121,053	68,439
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	2	96
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(4,889)	6,697
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year	19,335	4,283
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year	14,446	10,980
EPR Properties (Issuer) [Member]
Intercompany fee income (expense)	684	(653)
Interest income (expense) on intercompany receivable/payable	0	0
Net cash provided (used) by other operating activities	(41,300)	(31,258)
Net cash provided by operating activities	(40,616)	(30,605)
Acquisition of rental properties and other assets	(251)	(66)
Proceeds from sale of real estate	0	0
Investment in mortgage notes receivable	0	0
Proceeds from mortgage note receivable paydown	0	0
Investment in promissory notes receivable	0
Proceeds from Sale and Collection of Notes Receivable	0
Additions to properties under development	(725)	0
Advances to subsidiaries, net	(104,765)	(39,404)
Net cash used by investing activities	(105,741)	(39,470)
Proceeds from long-term debt facilities	175,000	162,000
Principal payments on long-term debt	(25,000)	(141,000)
Deferred financing fees paid	(33)	(28)
Costs associated with loan refinancing or payoff (cash portion)	0	0
Net proceeds from issuance of common shares	68,141	125,199
Impact of stock option exercises, net	(138)	(635)
Purchase of common shares for treasury	(6,729)	(4,208)
Dividends paid to shareholders	(69,856)	(64,823)
Net cash provided by financing activities	141,385	76,505
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	0	0
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(4,972)	6,430
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year	16,586	1,089
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year	11,614	7,519
Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Guarantors [Member]
Intercompany fee income (expense)	0	0
Interest income (expense) on intercompany receivable/payable	2,444	2,336
Net cash provided (used) by other operating activities	106,658	86,174
Net cash provided by operating activities	109,102	88,510
Acquisition of rental properties and other assets	(60,414)	(36,771)
Proceeds from sale of real estate	18,105	444
Investment in mortgage notes receivable	(66,080)	(53,659)
Proceeds from mortgage note receivable paydown	8,140	176
Investment in promissory notes receivable	554
Proceeds from Sale and Collection of Notes Receivable	1,599
Additions to properties under development	(95,709)	(60,332)
Advances to subsidiaries, net	86,169	62,022
Net cash used by investing activities	(108,744)	(88,120)
Proceeds from long-term debt facilities	0	0
Principal payments on long-term debt	0	(575)
Deferred financing fees paid	0	0
Costs associated with loan refinancing or payoff (cash portion)	0	0
Net proceeds from issuance of common shares	0	0
Impact of stock option exercises, net	0	0
Purchase of common shares for treasury	0	0
Dividends paid to shareholders	0	0
Net cash provided by financing activities	0	(575)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	0	0
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	358	(185)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year	1,157	1,289
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year	1,515	1,104
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Intercompany fee income (expense)	(684)	653
Interest income (expense) on intercompany receivable/payable	(2,444)	(2,336)
Net cash provided (used) by other operating activities	9,413	14,161
Net cash provided by operating activities	6,285	11,172
Acquisition of rental properties and other assets	(99)	(70)
Proceeds from sale of real estate	0	1,476
Investment in mortgage notes receivable	(977)	0
Proceeds from mortgage note receivable paydown	0	19,320
Investment in promissory notes receivable	0
Proceeds from Sale and Collection of Notes Receivable	0
Additions to properties under development	(3,750)	(1,433)
Advances to subsidiaries, net	18,596	(22,618)
Net cash used by investing activities	13,770	(3,325)
Proceeds from long-term debt facilities	0	0
Principal payments on long-term debt	(20,331)	(7,011)
Deferred financing fees paid	0	(8)
Costs associated with loan refinancing or payoff (cash portion)	(1)	(472)
Net proceeds from issuance of common shares	0	0
Impact of stock option exercises, net	0	0
Purchase of common shares for treasury	0	0
Dividends paid to shareholders	0	0
Net cash provided by financing activities	(20,332)	(7,491)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	2	96
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(275)	452
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year	1,592	1,905
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year	$ 1,317	$ 2,357