Partners' Equity of the Operating Partnership (Details) (Tanger Properties Limited Partnership [Member])	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
General and Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units [Roll Forward]
General partner (in shares)	1,000,000
Issuance of restricted shares (in shares)	348,844	1,302,729
Units issued upon exercise of options	8,300	15,800
Units withheld for employee income taxes	(30,578)
General partner (in shares)	1,000,000
General partner [Member]
General and Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units [Roll Forward]
General partner (in shares)	1,000,000	1,000,000
Exchange of Class A limited partnership units		0
Issuance of restricted shares (in shares)	0	0
Units issued upon exercise of options	0	0
Units withheld for employee income taxes	0
General partner (in shares)	1,000,000	1,000,000
Class A Limited Partnership Units [Member]
General and Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units [Roll Forward]
Limited partners (in shares)	5,078,406	5,145,012
Exchange of Class A limited partnership units		(21,500)
Issuance of restricted shares (in shares)	0	0
Units issued upon exercise of options	0	0
Units withheld for employee income taxes	0
Limited partners (in shares)	5,078,406	5,123,512
Class B Limited Partnership Units [Member]
General and Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units [Roll Forward]
Limited partners (in shares)	94,509,781	93,505,685
Exchange of Class A limited partnership units		21,500
Issuance of restricted shares (in shares)	348,844	1,302,729
Units issued upon exercise of options	8,300	15,800
Units withheld for employee income taxes	(30,578)
Limited partners (in shares)	94,836,347	94,845,714
Limited partners [Member]
General and Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units [Roll Forward]
Limited partners (in shares)	99,588,187	98,650,697
Exchange of Class A limited partnership units		0
Issuance of restricted shares (in shares)	348,844	1,302,729
Units issued upon exercise of options	8,300	15,800
Units withheld for employee income taxes	(30,578)
Limited partners (in shares)	99,914,753	99,969,226

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The number of general partner units outstanding.

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The number of limited partner units outstanding.

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For net-share settlement of share-based awards when the employer settles employees' income tax withholding obligations, this element represents the number of shares the employees use to repay the employer.

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The number of shares issued during the period upon the conversion of units. An example of a convertible unit is an umbrella partnership real estate investment trust unit (UPREIT unit).

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Number of shares issued during the period related to Restricted Stock Awards, net of any shares forfeited.

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Number of share options (or share units) exercised during the current period.

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