Consolidated Statements Of Income and Comprehensive Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Rental revenue	$ 593,022	$ 509,086	$ 441,187
Other income	25,920	2,076	3,095
Interest and Fee Income, Loans, Commercial and Residential, Real Estate	33,027	128,759	74,038
Total revenue	651,969	639,921	518,320
Property operating expense	60,739	29,654	31,327
Other expense	29,667	443	242
General and Administrative Expense	46,371	48,889	43,383
Severance expense	2,364	5,938	0
Litigation settlement expense	0	2,090	0
Costs associated with loan refinancing or payoff	38,269	31,958	1,549
Gain on Extinguishment of Debt	0	0	(977)
Interest expense, net	142,002	135,870	133,461
Transaction costs	23,789	3,698	523
Impairment charges	2,206	27,283	1,902
Depreciation and amortization	158,834	138,395	121,357
Income before equity in (loss) income from joint ventures, other items and discontinued operations	147,728	215,703	185,553
Equity in (loss) income from joint ventures	(381)	(22)	72
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets	4,174	3,037	41,942
gain on sale of investment in direct financing lease	0	5,514	0
Income before income taxes	151,521	224,232	227,567
Income tax benefit (expense)	3,035	(2,285)	(2,399)
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations, Net of Tax, Attributable to Parent	154,556	221,947	225,168
Income from discontinued operations before other items	37,241	45,036	46,093
Impairment Charges, Discontinued Operations	0	0	8,293
Impairment on public charter school portfolio sale	21,433	0	0
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Real Estate, Discontinued Operations	31,879	0	0
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Attributable to Parent	47,687	45,036	37,800
Net income attributable to EPR Properties	202,243	266,983	262,968
Preferred dividend requirements	(24,136)	(24,142)	(24,293)
Preferred Share Redemption Costs	0	0	4,457
Net income available to common shareholders of EPR Properties	$ 178,107	$ 242,841	$ 234,218
Basic earnings per share data:
Continuing operations	$ 1.70	$ 2.66	$ 2.76
Discontinued operations	0.62	0.61	0.53
Basic	2.32	3.27	3.29
Diluted earnings per share data:
Continuing operations	1.70	2.66	2.76
Discontinued operations	0.62	0.61	0.53
Diluted	$ 2.32	$ 3.27	$ 3.29
Shares used for computation (in thousands):
Basic	76,746	74,292	71,191
Diluted	76,782	74,337	71,254
Foreign currency translation adjustment	$ 9,253	$ (16,177)	$ 12,569
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Derivatives Arising During Period, Net of Tax	(14,063)	15,779	(7,820)
Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest	$ 197,433	$ 266,585	$ 267,717