Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information. Management is required to make estimates and assumptions in the preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from management’s estimates.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Healthpeak Properties, Inc., its wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint ventures (“JVs”), and variable interest entities (“VIEs”) that it controls through voting rights or other means. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated upon consolidation. All adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flows have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020. The accompanying unaudited interim financial information should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2019 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Adopted

Leases. In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (“ASU 2016-02”). ASU 2016-02 (codified under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 842, Leases) amends the previous accounting for leases to: (i) require lessees to put most leases on their balance sheets (not required for short-term leases with lease terms of 12 months or less), but continue recognizing expenses on their income statements in a manner similar to requirements under prior accounting guidance, (ii) eliminate real estate specific lease provisions, and (iii) modify the classification criteria and accounting for sales-type leases for lessors. Additionally, ASU 2016-02 provides a practical expedient, which the Company elected, that allows an entity to not reassess the following upon adoption (must be elected as a group): (i) whether an expired or existing contract contains a lease arrangement, (ii) lease classification related to expired or existing lease arrangements, or (iii) whether costs incurred on expired or existing leases qualify as initial direct costs.

As a result of adopting ASU 2016-02 on January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective transition approach, the Company recognized a cumulative-effect adjustment to equity of $1 million as of January 1, 2019. Under ASU 2016-02, the Company began capitalizing fewer costs related to the drafting and negotiation of its lease agreements. Additionally, the Company began recognizing all of its significant operating leases for which it is the lessee, including corporate office leases, equipment leases, and ground leases, on its consolidated balance sheets as a lease liability and corresponding right-of-use asset. As such, the Company recognized a lease liability of $153 million and right-of-use asset of $166 million on January 1, 2019. The aggregate lease liability is calculated as the present value of minimum lease payments, discounted using a rate that approximates the Company’s secured incremental borrowing rate, adjusted for the noncancelable term of each lease. The right-of-use asset is calculated as the aggregate lease liability, adjusted for the existing accrued straight-line rent liability balance of $20 million and net unamortized above/below market ground lease intangible assets of $33 million.

Other. Effective January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU No. 2017-12, Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities (“ASU 2017-12”). The amendments in ASU 2017-12 expand and refine hedge accounting for both nonfinancial and financial risk components and align the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. For cash flow and net investment hedges existing at the date of adoption, the Company adopted the amendments in ASU 2017-12 using the modified retrospective approach. For amendments impacting presentation and disclosure, the Company adopted ASU 2017-12 using a prospective approach. The adoption of ASU 2017-12 did not have a material impact to the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, cash flows, or disclosures.

Credit Losses. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 is intended to improve financial reporting by requiring timelier recognition of credit losses on loans and other financial instruments held by financial institutions and other organizations. The amendments in ASU 2016-13 eliminate the “probable” initial threshold for recognition of credit losses in current accounting guidance and, instead, reflect an entity’s current estimate of all expected credit losses over the life of the financial instrument. Previously, when credit losses were measured under current accounting guidance, an entity generally only considered past events and current conditions in measuring the incurred loss. The amendments in ASU 2016-13 broaden the information that an entity must consider in developing its expected credit loss estimate for assets measured either collectively or individually. The use of forecasted information incorporates more timely information in the estimate of expected credit loss.

As a result of adopting ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020 using the modified retrospective transition approach, the Company recognized a cumulative-effect adjustment to equity of $2 million as of January 1, 2020. Under ASU 2016-13, the Company began using a loss model that relies on future expected credit losses, rather than incurred losses, as was required under historical U.S. GAAP. Under the new model, the Company is required to recognize future credit losses expected to be incurred over the life of its financing receivables, including loans receivable, direct financing leases (“DFLs”), and certain accounts receivable, at inception of those instruments. The model emphasizes historical experience and future market expectations to determine a loss to be recognized at inception. However, the model continues to be applied on an individual basis and rely on counter-party specific information to ensure the most accurate estimate is recognized. The Company will reassess its reserves on financing receivables at each balance sheet date to determine if an adjustment to the previous reserve is necessary.

Not Yet Adopted

Accounting for Lease Concessions Related to COVID-19. In April 2020, the FASB staff issued a question-and-answer document (the “Lease Modification Q&A”) focused on the application of lease accounting guidance to lease concessions provided as a result of the coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”). Under ASC 842, the Company would have to determine, on a lease-by-lease basis, if a lease concession was the result of a new arrangement reached with the tenant (treated within the lease modification accounting framework) or if a lease concession was under the enforceable rights and obligations within the existing lease agreement (precluded from applying the lease modification accounting framework). Under the lease modification framework, rent abatements would be recognized evenly over the remaining lease term, while abatements accounted for outside of the lease modification framework would be recognized as a reduction in revenue in during the abatement period (i.e., the Company would recognize revenue equal to cash received during the concession period). The Lease Modification Q&A allows the Company, if certain criteria have been met, to bypass the lease-by-lease analysis, and instead elect to either apply the lease modification accounting framework or not, with such election applied consistently to leases with similar characteristics and similar circumstances. During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company did not provide any lease concessions as a result of COVID-19 and as such, has not yet had to make an election. The future impact of the Lease Modification Q&A is dependent upon the nature and extent of lease concessions granted to tenants as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in future periods and the elections made by the Company at the time of granting such concessions.

Segment Reporting

The Company’s reportable segments, based on how it evaluates its business and allocates resources, are as follows: (i) senior housing triple-net, (ii) SHOP, (iii) CCRC, (iv) life science, and (v) medical office. In January 2020, primarily as a result of: (i) consolidating 13 of 15 CCRCs previously held by a CCRC joint venture (see discussion of the Brookdale 2019 Master Transaction and Cooperation Agreement in Note 3) and (ii) deconsolidating 19 SHOP assets into a new joint venture in December 2019, the Company's chief operating decision makers (“CODMs”) began reviewing operating results of CCRCs on a stand-alone basis and financial information for each respective segment inclusive of the Company’s share of unconsolidated joint ventures and exclusive of noncontrolling interests’ share of consolidated joint ventures. Therefore, during the first quarter of 2020, the Company began reporting CCRCs as a separate segment and segment measures inclusive of the Company’s share of unconsolidated joint ventures and exclusive of noncontrolling interests’ share of consolidated joint ventures. Accordingly, all prior period segment information has been recast to conform to the current period presentation.