Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2016

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) and certain reclassifications considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period financial statements in order to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications did not have an impact on net income previously reported. Operating results for the six months ended June 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016.

In preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

The balance sheets at December 31, 2015 have been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements.

For further information, including definitions of capitalized terms not defined herein, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company’s and the Operating Partnership's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Income and Other Taxes

Income and Other Taxes

Due to the structure of EQR as a REIT and the nature of the operations of its operating properties, no provision for federal income taxes has been made at the EQR level. In addition, ERPOP generally is not liable for federal income taxes as the partners recognize their proportionate share of income or loss in their tax returns; therefore no provision for federal income taxes has been made at the ERPOP level. Historically, the Company has generally only incurred certain state and local income, excise and franchise taxes. The Company has elected Taxable REIT Subsidiary (“TRS”) status for certain of its corporate subsidiaries and as a result, these entities will incur both federal and state income taxes on any taxable income of such entities after consideration of any net operating losses.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities applicable to the TRS are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. These assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates for which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effects of changes in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized in earnings in the period enacted. The Company’s deferred tax assets are generally the result of tax affected suspended interest deductions, net operating losses, differing depreciable lives on capitalized assets and the timing of expense recognition for certain accrued liabilities. As of June 30, 2016, the Company has recorded a deferred tax asset, which is fully offset by a valuation allowance due to the uncertainty of realization.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the "FASB") issued a comprehensive new revenue recognition standard entitled Revenue from Contracts with Customers that will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance. The new standard specifically excludes lease revenue. The new standard’s core principle is that a company will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Companies will likely need to use more judgment and make more estimates than under current revenue recognition guidance. These may include identifying performance obligations in the contract, estimating the amount of variable consideration, if any, to include in the transaction price and allocating the transaction price to each separate performance obligation. The new standard will be effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2018 and early adoption will be permitted beginning on January 1, 2017. The new standard may be applied retrospectively to each prior period presented or prospectively with the cumulative effect recognized as of the date of adoption. The Company has not yet selected a transition method and is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new standard on its consolidated results of operations and financial position.

In August 2014, the FASB issued a new standard that will explicitly require management to assess an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures in certain circumstances. In connection with each annual and interim period, management will assess whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the issuance date. Disclosures will be required if conditions give rise to substantial doubt. However, to determine the specific disclosures, management will need to assess whether its plans will alleviate substantial doubt. The new standard is effective for the annual period ending after December 15, 2016 and for interim periods thereafter. The Company does not expect that this will have a material effect on its consolidated results of operations or financial position.

In February 2015, the FASB issued new consolidation guidance which makes changes to both the variable interest model and the voting model. Among other changes, the new standard specifically eliminates the presumption in the current voting model that a general partner controls a limited partnership or similar entity unless that presumption can be overcome. Generally, only a single limited partner that is able to exercise substantive kick-out rights will consolidate. The Company adopted this standard as required effective January 1, 2016. While adoption of this standard did not result in any changes to conclusions about whether a joint venture was consolidated or unconsolidated, the Company has determined that certain of its joint ventures and the Operating Partnership now qualify as variable interest entities ("VIEs") and therefore require additional disclosures. See Note 6 for further discussion.

In April 2015, the FASB issued a new standard which requires companies to present debt financing costs as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the associated debt liability rather than as an asset, consistent with the presentation of debt discounts on the consolidated balance sheets.  Companies will be permitted to present debt issuance costs related to line of credit arrangements as an asset and amortize these costs over the term of the arrangement, regardless of whether there are any outstanding borrowings on the arrangement. The new standard must be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the consolidated financial statements.  The Company adopted this standard as required effective January 1, 2016 and other than presentation on the consolidated balance sheets, it did not have a material effect on its consolidated results of operations or financial position. As of June 30 2016, $5.3 million, $17.6 million and $23.8 million of deferred financing costs were included within other assets, mortgage notes payable, net and notes, net, respectively, on the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2015, the following amounts of deferred financing costs were reclassified (amounts in thousands):

	December 31, 2015
	As Originally Presented		Reclassification Adjustments			As Presented Herein
Deferred financing costs, net	$	54,004	$	(54,004	)	$	—
Other assets	$	422,027	$	6,872		$	428,899
Mortgage notes payable, net	$	4,704,870	$	(19,736	)	$	4,685,134
Notes, net	$	5,876,352	$	(27,396	)	$	5,848,956

In January 2016, the FASB issued a new standard which requires companies to measure all equity securities with readily determinable fair values at fair value on the balance sheet, with changes in fair value recognized in net income. The new standard will be effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2018. The Company does not expect that this will have a material effect on its consolidated results of operations or financial position.

In February 2016, the FASB issued a new leases standard which sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases for both parties to a contract (i.e. lessees and lessors). The new standard requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either finance or operating based on the principle of whether or not the lease is effectively a financed purchase of the leased asset by the lessee. This classification will determine whether the lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. A lessee is also required to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term of greater than 12 months regardless of their classification. Leases with a term of 12 months or less will be accounted for similar to existing guidance for operating leases today. The new standard requires lessors to account for leases using an approach that is substantially equivalent to existing guidance for sales-type leases, direct financing leases and operating leases. The new standard is expected to impact the Company’s consolidated financial statements as the Company has certain operating ground lease arrangements for which it is the lessee. The new standard will be effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new standard on its consolidated results of operations and financial position.

In March 2016, the FASB issued a new standard which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as equity or liability, statement of cash flows classification and policy election options for forfeitures. The new standard will be effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new standard on its consolidated results of operations and financial position.

Other

Other

The Company is the controlling partner in various consolidated partnerships owning 18 properties and 3,471 apartment units having a noncontrolling interest book value of $4.3 million at June 30, 2016. The Company is required to make certain disclosures regarding noncontrolling interests in consolidated limited-life subsidiaries. Of the consolidated entities described above, the Company is the controlling partner in limited-life partnerships owning five properties having a noncontrolling interest deficit balance of $9.2 million. These five partnership agreements contain provisions that require the partnerships to be liquidated through the sale of their assets upon reaching a date specified in each respective partnership agreement. The Company, as controlling partner, has an obligation to cause the property owning partnerships to distribute the proceeds of liquidation to the Noncontrolling Interests in these Partially Owned Properties only to the extent that the net proceeds received by the partnerships from the sale of their assets warrant a distribution based on the partnership agreements. As of June 30, 2016, the Company estimates the value of Noncontrolling Interest distributions for these five properties would have been approximately $54.6 million (“Settlement Value”) had the partnerships been liquidated. This Settlement Value is based on estimated third party consideration realized by the partnerships upon disposition of the five Partially Owned Properties and is net of all other assets and liabilities, including yield maintenance on the mortgages encumbering the properties, that would have been due on June 30, 2016 had those mortgages been prepaid. Due to, among other things, the inherent uncertainty in the sale of real estate assets, the amount of any potential distribution to the Noncontrolling Interests in the Company's Partially Owned Properties is subject to change. To the extent that the partnerships' underlying assets are worth less than the underlying liabilities, the Company has no obligation to remit any consideration to the Noncontrolling Interests in these Partially Owned Properties.