Quarterly Financial Information Schedule (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended													12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015		Sep. 30, 2015		Jun. 30, 2015		Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Total revenues	$ 218,634	$ 249,701	$ 190,799	$ 174,644					$ 165,938		$ 155,200	$ 168,238	$ 185,355	$ 833,778	$ 674,731	$ 484,259
Total expenses	211,569	226,688	195,781	162,638					154,862		151,646	$ 165,697	$ 163,771	796,676	635,976	474,150
Income (loss) before income taxes and distributions from affiliate	7,065	23,013	(4,982)	12,006	$ 2,541		$ 21,584		11,076		3,554			37,102	38,755	10,109
Distributions from affiliate					0	[1]	0	[1]	7,500	[1]	0
Gain on disposition of properties, net					98,430		18,190		(13)		8,769			0	125,376	17,654
Gain on settlement														0	0	4,452
Net income attributable to Sun Communities, Inc.	$ (1,600)	$ 18,897	$ (7,803)	$ 7,875	$ 89,399		$ 28,763		$ 12,294		$ 6,869			$ 26,315	$ 155,446	$ 28,509
Earnings per share, Basic	$ (0.02)	$ 0.27	$ (0.12)	$ 0.14	$ 1.57		$ 0.53		$ 0.23		$ 0.13			$ 0.27	$ 2.53	$ 0.54
Earnings per share, Diluted	$ (0.02)	$ 0.27	$ (0.12)	$ 0.14	$ 1.56		$ 0.53		$ 0.23		$ 0.13			$ 0.26	$ 2.52	$ 0.54

[1] (1) Refer to Note 6, "Investment in Affiliates," for additional information.(2) Refer to Note 2, "Real Estate Acquisitions and Dispositions," for additional information.