Borrowings - Narrative (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended															12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended							3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended																3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 7 1/2% Senior Notes Maturing September 2021 [Member] [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 7 1/2% Senior Notes Maturing September 2021 [Member] [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 7 1/4% Senior Notes Maturing February 2023 [Member]	Feb. 01, 2013 Senior Notes 7 1/4% Senior Notes Maturing February 2023 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 7 1/4% Senior Notes Maturing February 2023 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes Six and Five Eighths Percent Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes Six and Five Eighths Percent Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Jul. 18, 2012 Senior Notes Six and Five Eighths Percent Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 9 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing June 2018	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 9 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing June 2018	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 12% Senior Secured Notes Maturing October 2017	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 12% Senior Secured Notes Maturing October 2017	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 9 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing May 2019	Sep. 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, 2012 Senior Notes 6 1/2% Senior Notes Maturing 2013 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 6 7/8% Senior Notes Maturing July 2015	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 6 7/8% Senior Notes Maturing July 2015	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes 8 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing June 2016	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 8 1/8% Senior Notes Maturing June 2016	Mar. 31, 2012 Senior Notes Tangible Equity Units TEUs	Jul. 17, 2012 Senior Notes Tangible Equity Units TEUs	May 31, 2010 Senior Notes Tangible Equity Units TEUs	Sep. 30, 2013 Convertible Subordinated Debt	Sep. 30, 2012 Convertible Subordinated Debt	Mar. 31, 2012 Convertible Subordinated Debt 7 1/2% Mandatory Convertible Subordinated Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 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]	Sep. 30, 2013 Junior Subordinated Notes	Sep. 30, 2012 Junior Subordinated Notes	Jan. 15, 2010 Junior Subordinated Notes	Jun. 15, 2006 Junior Subordinated Notes	Jun. 30, 2011 Cash Secured Loan	Sep. 30, 2013 Cash Secured Loan	Sep. 30, 2012 Cash Secured Loan	Nov. 30, 2010 Cash Secured Loan	Sep. 30, 2013 Other Secured Notes Payable	Sep. 30, 2012 Other Secured Notes Payable	Sep. 30, 2013 Secured Revolving Credit Facility	Sep. 30, 2012 Secured Revolving Credit Facility	Jun. 30, 2012 Secured Revolving Credit Facility	Sep. 30, 2013 Letter of Credit	Sep. 30, 2012 Letter of Credit	Sep. 30, 2013 Minimum Senior Notes 7 1/2% Senior Notes Maturing September 2021 [Member] [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Minimum Senior Notes 7 1/4% Senior Notes Maturing February 2023 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Minimum Senior Notes Six and Five Eighths Percent Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Maximum Senior Notes 7 1/2% Senior Notes Maturing September 2021 [Member] [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Maximum Senior Notes 7 1/4% Senior Notes Maturing February 2023 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Maximum Senior Notes Six and Five Eighths Percent Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Common Stock	Mar. 31, 2012 Common Stock	Sep. 30, 2013 Common Stock	Sep. 30, 2013 In Compliance [Member] Senior Notes 7 1/2% Senior Notes Maturing September 2021 [Member] [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 In Compliance [Member] Senior Notes 7 1/4% Senior Notes Maturing February 2023 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 In Compliance [Member] Senior Notes Six and Five Eighths Percent Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Optional Redemption Under Indenture [Member] Senior Notes 7 1/2% Senior Notes Maturing September 2021 [Member] [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Optional Redemption Under Indenture [Member] Senior Notes 7 1/4% Senior Notes Maturing February 2023 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Optional Redemption Under Indenture [Member] Senior Notes Six and Five Eighths Percent Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Not In Compliance [Member] Senior Notes Six and Five Eighths Percent Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Debt Instrument, Convertible, Stock Price Trigger, Range One [Member] Tangible Equity Units	Sep. 30, 2013 Debt Instrument, Convertible, Stock Price Trigger, Range Two [Member] Tangible Equity Units
Line of Credit Facility [Abstract]
Credit facility borrowing capacity																																																				$ 150,000,000		$ 22,000,000	$ 194,800,000
Line of Credit Facility, Current Borrowing Capacity																																																				150,000,000
Inventory assets pledged as collateral																																																				1,000,000,000
Outstanding borrowings under Secured Revolving Credit Facility																																																				0	0
Letters of credit secured using cash collateral																																																							25,200,000	24,700,000
Senior Notes [Abstract]
Debt instrument redemption price (percent)														100.00%		100.00%			100.00%												101.146%																										100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	105.625%	103.625%	103.313%				101.00%	101.00%	101.00%	107.50%	107.25%	106.625%	100.00%
Percent of original debt amount required to be offered for repurchase (percent)														35.00%		35.00%			35.00%																																																		65.00%	65.00%	65.00%
Beazer homes' ownership interest in guarantor subsidiaries	100.00%								100.00%
Minimum consolidated tangible net worth	85,000,000								85,000,000
Debt Instrument, Original Amount of Debt That Could Be Repurchased												27,500,000
Consolidated Tangible Net Worth	213,700,000								213,700,000
Aggregate principal amount of debt														200,000,000			200,000,000				300,000,000							250,000,000													57,500,000			75,000,000	103,100,000				32,600,000
Debt instrument stated interest rate (percent)														7.50%	0.00%	7.25%	7.25%	0.00%	6.625%	6.625%		9.125%	9.125%	12.00%	12.00%	9.125%	9.125%			6.875%	6.875%	8.125%	8.125%		7.50%	7.25%						7.987%			7.987%
Cash used for redemption of debt																								280,000,000
Outstanding debt that was redeemed or repurchased																						2,000,000					15,000,000																				205,000,000	20,000,000
Aggregate purchase price of Senior Notes													210,000,000													14,600,000
Loss on extinguishment of debt	998,000	0	3,638,000	0	42,350,000	0	2,747,000	0	4,636,000	45,097,000	2,909,000	3,600,000	2,900,000											(42,400,000)			(30,000)							700,000													(1,000,000)
Debt redeemed or repurchased									184,723,000	290,387,000	215,376,000		209,500,000																164,500,000	37,000,000		8,000,000
Installments as an annual cash payment percentage (percent)														98.541%
Shares exchanged for common stock																																																																2,800,000
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Stock Price Trigger																																																																									$ 14.50	$ 17.75
Tangible Capital [Abstract]
Tangible Equity Units (TEUs) issued during period (units)																																		2,800,000	4,600,000	3,000,000
Senior amortizing notes exchanged for Tangible Equity Units																																		7,200,000
Convertible Subordinated Debt [Abstract]
Fixed conversion ratio (shares per $25)																																																																									1.72414	1.40746
Number of common stock exchanged for debt (shares)																																																															408,790	2,200,000	400,000
Value of convertible debt exchanged for common stock																																							48,100,000
Inducement expense recognized																																							2,000,000
Junior Subordinated Notes [Abstract]
Effective period of debt instrument interest rate																																										10 years
Three-month LIBOR																																															LIBOR
Spread on three-month LIBOR rate (percent)																																										2.45%					0.40%
Unamortized accretion	5,160,000				3,082,000				5,160,000	3,082,000		5,160,000	3,082,000																													(47,100,000)
Secured Debt [Abstract]
Additional borrowings under cash secured loan facilities																																														214,800,000
Long-term debt																								$ 250,000,000													$ 0	$ 9,402,000		$ 9,400,000		$ 53,670,000	$ 51,603,000				$ 22,368,000	$ 227,368,000		$ 19,285,000	$ 8,758,000
Weighted average fixed interest rate of debt (percent)																																																		4.00%