Amount of lease cost recognized by lessee for lease contract.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=128292326&loc=SL77918686-209980

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 55
-Paragraph 53
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123414884&loc=SL77918982-209971

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LeaseCost
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Term of lessee's operating lease renewal, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (a)(3)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=128292326&loc=SL77918673-209980

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LesseeOperatingLeaseRenewalTerm
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Term of lessee's operating lease, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LesseeOperatingLeaseTermOfContract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of operating lease expense. Excludes sublease income.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123391704&loc=SL77918638-209977

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OperatingLeaseExpense
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- 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

Name:	us-gaap_OperatingLeasedAssetsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The number of units (items of property) under operating lease arrangements.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 13
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=124258985&loc=SL77919398-209981

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertySubjectToOrAvailableForOperatingLeaseNumberOfUnits
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=mfa_CorporateHeadquartersMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=mfa_NewCorporateHeadquartersLocationMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Commitments and Contingencies - Lease Commitments (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($) lease	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Lease Commitments
Number of lease commitments \| lease	2
Operating lease expense		$ 3.0	$ 2.7
Corporate headquarters
Lease Commitments
Lease cost	$ 4.0
New Corporate Headquarters Location
Lease Commitments
Term of lease	15 years
Renewal term	5 years