Acquisitions and Dispositions - Property Acquisitions (Details)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($) property property_Unit	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) property
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
No. of Units | property_Unit	10,336
Acquisition Mortgage Debt	$ 65,597,000
Initial BRT Equity	$ 11,231,000	$ 12,370,000
Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
No. of Units | property	640	1,597
Purchase Price	$ 91,065,000	$ 199,876,000
Initial BRT Equity	22,856,000	41,749,000
Capitalized Acquisition Costs	$ 1,105,000	$ 2,611,000
Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Kannapolis, North Carolina | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
No. of Units | property	312
Purchase Price	$ 48,065,000
Initial BRT Equity	$ 11,231,000
Ownership Percentage	65.00%
Capitalized Acquisition Costs	$ 559,000
Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Birmingham, Alabama | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
No. of Units | property	328
Purchase Price	$ 43,000,000
Initial BRT Equity	$ 11,625,000
Ownership Percentage	80.00%
Capitalized Acquisition Costs	$ 546,000
Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Ocoee, FL | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
No. of Units | property		522
Purchase Price		$ 71,347,000
Initial BRT Equity		$ 12,370,000
Ownership Percentage		50.00%
Capitalized Acquisition Costs		$ 1,047,000
Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Lawrenceville, GA | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
No. of Units | property		586
Purchase Price		$ 77,229,000
Initial BRT Equity		$ 15,179,000
Ownership Percentage		50.00%
Capitalized Acquisition Costs		$ 767,000
Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Daytona, FL | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
No. of Units | property		208
Purchase Price		$ 20,500,000
Initial BRT Equity		$ 6,900,000
Ownership Percentage		80.00%
Capitalized Acquisition Costs		$ 386,000
Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Grand Prairie, TX | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
No. of Units | property		281
Purchase Price		$ 30,800,000
Initial BRT Equity		$ 7,300,000
Ownership Percentage		50.00%
Capitalized Acquisition Costs		$ 411,000
Acquisition Mortgages Debt | Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Acquisition Mortgage Debt	65,597,000	140,110,000
Acquisition Mortgages Debt | Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Kannapolis, North Carolina | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Acquisition Mortgage Debt	33,347,000
Acquisition Mortgages Debt | Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Birmingham, Alabama | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Acquisition Mortgage Debt	$ 32,250,000
Acquisition Mortgages Debt | Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Ocoee, FL | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Acquisition Mortgage Debt		53,060,000
Acquisition Mortgages Debt | Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Lawrenceville, GA | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Acquisition Mortgage Debt		54,447,000
Acquisition Mortgages Debt | Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Daytona, FL | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Acquisition Mortgage Debt		13,608,000
Acquisition Mortgages Debt | Corporate Joint Venture | VIE | Grand Prairie, TX | Apartment Building | Property Acquisition
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Acquisition Mortgage Debt		$ 18,995,000