Recent Accounting Pronouncements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Text Block]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements - Adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASC 2016-02 codified in ASC Topic 842, Leases, which amends the guidance in former ASC Topic 840, Leases. On January 1, 2019, we adopted ASC 2016-02. The new standard increases transparency and comparability most significantly by requiring the recognition by lessees of right of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for those leases classified as operating leases and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. As amended by ASU 2018-11, comparative reporting periods are presented in accordance with Topic 840, while periods subsequent to the effective date are presented in accordance with Topic 842. The Company elected the package of practical expedients, which permits the Company not to reassess expired or existing contracts containing a lease, the lease classification for expired or existing contracts, initial direct costs for any existing leases. The Company elected not to allocate lease obligation between lease and non-lease components of our agreements for both leases where we are a lessor and leases where we are a lessee. The Company did not elect the hindsight practical expedient, which permits the company to use hindsight in determining the lease terms and impairment implications. The Company did not elect to use a portfolio approach in the valuation of ROU assets and corresponding liabilities. Some ROU assets include an extension option, which is included in the ROU assets and liabilities only if we are reasonably certain to exercise.

Lessor Accounting

Our income from real property and rental home revenue streams are derived from rental agreements where we are the lessor. Our recognition of rental revenue remains mainly consistent with previous guidance, apart from the narrower definition of initial direct costs that can be capitalized. ASC 842 limits the definition of initial direct costs to only the incremental costs of signing a lease. Internal sales employees’ compensation, payroll-related fringe benefits, certain legal fees rendered prior to the execution of a lease, negotiation costs, advertising and other origination effort costs no longer meet the definition of initial direct costs under the new standard, and will be accounted for as general and administrative expense in our consolidated statements of operations. ASC 842 permits the capitalization of direct commission costs. The application of ASC 842 resulted in an immaterial impact on the statement of consolidated operations.

Our leases with customers are classified as operating leases. Lease income from tenants is recognized on a straight-line basis over the terms of the relevant lease agreement and is included within income from real property, rental home revenue and ancillary revenue on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Revenue is not recognized when collection is not reasonably assured. When collectability is not reasonably assured, the resident is placed on non-accrual status and revenue is recognized when cash payments are received.

Lessee Accounting

We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Our operating lease agreements are primarily for executive office spaces, ground leases at certain communities, and certain equipment leases. The ROU asset and ROU liabilities are included within Other assets, net and Other liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. For operating leases with a term greater than one year, the company recognizes the ROU assets and liabilities related to the lease payments on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The lease liabilities are initially and subsequently measured at the present value of the unpaid lease payments at the lease commencement date. The ROU assets represent our right to use the underlying assets for the term of the lease and the lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising for the agreements. The ROU asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred less any lease incentives received. The ROU asset is subsequently measured throughout the lease term at the carrying amount of the lease liability, plus unamortized initial direct costs, plus (minus) any prepaid (accrued) lease payments, less the unamortized balance of lease incentives received. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The ROU asset is periodically reduced by impairment losses. As of December 31, 2019, we have not encountered any impairment losses. Variable lease payments, except for the ones that depend on index or rate, are excluded from the calculation of the ROU assets and lease liabilities and are recognized as variable lease expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the period in which they are incurred. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. Many of our lessee agreements include options to extend the lease, which we do not include in our minimum lease terms unless they are reasonably certain to be exercised. The lease liability costs are amortized over the straight-line method over the term of the lease. Operating leases with a term of less than one year are recognized as a lease expense over the term of the lease, with no asset or liability recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Finance leases where we are the lessee are included in Other assets, net and Other liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The lease liabilities are initially measured in the same manner as operating leases and are subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest method. The ROU asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred less any lease incentives received.

For finance leases the ROU asset is subsequently amortized using the straight-line method from the lease commencement date to the earlier of the end of its useful life or the end of the lease term unless the lease transfers ownership of the underlying asset to us, or we are reasonably certain to exercise an option to purchase the underlying asset. In those cases, the ROU asset is amortized over the useful life of the underlying asset. Amortization of the ROU asset is recognized and presented separately from interest expense on the lease liability. ROU assets are periodically reduced by impairment losses. As of December 31, 2019, we have not encountered any impairment losses. Refer to Note 19, “Leases” for information regarding leasing activities.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements - Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13 “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” “CECL” This update replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. As of January 1, 2020, we adopted the fair value option for our installment notes receivable and the notes receivable within the GTSC joint venture which resulted in fair value adjustments of $0.3 million and $0.6 million, respectively. We do not expect the impact of the adoption of CECL on the remaining in scope financial instruments to be material.