Real Estate Investments - Acquisitions and Disposals (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) property
Acquisitions
Investment in real estate	$ 16,000
ALF \| Florida
Disposals and other
Number of beds or units in property sold \| property	48
Sales price	$ 1,750
SNF \| Texas
Acquisitions
Number of units \| property	126
Investment in real estate	$ 16,000

The number of beds or units in a real estate property sold by the entity.

No definition available.

Name:	ltc_NumberOfBedsOrUnitsInRealEstatePropertySold
Namespace Prefix:	ltc_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Sales price of real estate or properties that were intended to be sold or held for capital appreciation or rental income.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ltc_SalesPriceOfRealEstateHeldForInvestment
Namespace Prefix:	ltc_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

The number of units in a real estate property owned as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfUnitsInRealEstateProperty
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The cash outflow from the acquisition of a piece of land, anything permanently fixed to it, including buildings, structures on it and so forth; includes real estate intended to generate income for the owner; excludes real estate acquired for use by the owner.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66902209&loc=d3e3213-108585

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireRealEstate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=ltc_AssistedLivingPropertiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementGeographicalAxis=stpr_FL
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=ltc_SkilledNursingPropertiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementGeographicalAxis=stpr_TX
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: