Borrowings - Narrative (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended					3 Months Ended													3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011 Senior Notes	Jun. 30, 2012 Senior Notes	Jun. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 9 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing May 2019	Nov. 30, 2010 Senior Notes 9 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing May 2019	Sep. 30, 2011 Senior Notes 6 1/2% Senior Notes Maturing 2013 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Senior Notes 6 7/8% Senior Notes Maturing July 2015	Jun. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 6 7/8% Senior Notes Maturing July 2015	Sep. 30, 2011 Senior Notes 8 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing June 2016	Jun. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 8 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing June 2016	Mar. 31, 2012 Senior Notes Tangible Equity Units TEUs	May 31, 2010 Senior Notes Tangible Equity Units TEUs	Jun. 30, 2012 Convertible Subordinated Debt	Sep. 30, 2011 Convertible Subordinated Debt	Mar. 31, 2012 Convertible Subordinated Debt 7 1/2% Mandatory Convertible Subordinated Notes [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Convertible Subordinated Debt 7 1/2% Mandatory Convertible Subordinated Notes [Member]	Jan. 12, 2010 Convertible Subordinated Debt 7 1/2% Mandatory Convertible Subordinated Notes [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Junior Subordinated Notes	Jun. 01, 2012 Junior Subordinated Notes	Sep. 30, 2011 Junior Subordinated Notes	Jan. 15, 2010 Junior Subordinated Notes	Jun. 15, 2006 Junior Subordinated Notes	Jun. 30, 2011 Cash Secured Loan	Jun. 30, 2012 Cash Secured Loan	Sep. 30, 2011 Cash Secured Loan	Nov. 30, 2010 Cash Secured Loan	Jun. 30, 2012 Other Secured Notes Payable	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Secured Notes Payable	Jun. 30, 2012 Secured Revolving Credit Facility	Sep. 30, 2011 Secured Revolving Credit Facility	Jul. 31, 2011 Secured Revolving Credit Facility	Jun. 30, 2012 Letter of Credit	Sep. 30, 2011 Letter of Credit	Jun. 30, 2012 Minimum Convertible Subordinated Debt 7 1/2% Mandatory Convertible Subordinated Notes [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Maximum Convertible Subordinated Debt 7 1/2% Mandatory Convertible Subordinated Notes [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Common Stock
Line of Credit Facility [Abstract]
Credit facility borrowing capacity																																			$ 22,000,000	$ 92,000,000
Inventory assets pledged as collateral																																	1,000,000,000
Outstanding borrowings under the Secured Revolving Credit Facility																																	0	0
Letters of credit secured using cash collateral																																				23,800,000	28,900,000
Senior Notes [Abstract]
Beazer homes' ownership interest in gurantor subsidiaries	100.00%		100.00%
Percent of original debt amount required to be offered for repurchase (percent)							10.00%
Minimum consolidated tangible net worth	85,000,000		85,000,000
Amount of original debt that could be repurchased							62,500,000
Consolidated tangible net worth	141,200,000		141,200,000
Aggregate principal amount of debt									250,000,000							15,700,000					57,500,000				75,000,000	103,100,000				32,600,000
Debt redeemed or repurchased			3,369,000	213,755,000		209,500,000				164,500,000	37,000,000		8,000,000
Aggregate purchase price of Senior Notes						210,000,000
Installments as an annual cash payment percentage (percent)																7.25%
Prepaid stock purchase contracts recorded as equity																57,400,000
Shares exchanged for common stock																																								13.8
Debt instrument stated interest rate (percent)								9.125%				6.875%		8.125%								7.987%
Loss on extinguishment of debt	0	(95,000)	2,747,000	2,909,000		2,900,000									700,000
Tangible Capital [Abstract]
Tangible Equity Units (TEUs) issued during period, (units)															2,800,000	3,000,000
Senior amortizing notes exchanged for Tangible Equity Units															7,200,000
Convertible Subordinated Debt [Abstract]
Fixed conversion ratio (shares per $25)																				5.4348
Number of common stock exchanged for debt (shares)																																								11.0
Value of convertible debt exchanged for common stock																			48,100,000
Inducement expense recognized																			2,000,000
Debt instrument initial conversion rate (shares per $25)																																						4.4547	5.4348
Junior Subordinated Notes [Abstract]
Effective period of debt instrument interest rate																						10 years
Three-month LIBOR																						three-month LIBOR					LIBOR
Spread on three-month LIBOR rate (percent)																						2.45%						0.40%
Debt instrument variable rate floor (percent)																						4.25%
Debt instrument variable rate cap (percent)																						9.25%
Debt instrument redemption price (percent)																							75.00%
Annual redemption price rate increase (percent)																						1.785%
Unamortized accretion	20,348,000		20,348,000		23,243,000	23,243,000	20,348,000															(49,700,000)
Secured Debt [Abstract]
Combined total of loan facilities																														275,000,000
Additional borrowings under cash secured loan facilities																											214,800,000
Long-term debt	$ 1,442,407,000		$ 1,442,407,000		$ 1,488,826,000	$ 1,132,152,000	$ 1,125,377,000										$ 9,402,000	$ 57,500,000		$ 9,400,000		$ 51,087,000		$ 49,537,000				$ 247,368,000	$ 247,368,000		$ 9,173,000	$ 2,269,000
Weighted average fixed interest rate of debt (percent)																															4.34%