Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Jun. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Related party receivables	$ 11.0	$ 11.3
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.0001	$ 0.0001
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	670,000,000	670,000,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	65,988,761	65,527,993
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	65,988,761	65,527,993
Essex Portfolio, L.P. [Member]
Related party receivables	$ 11.0	$ 11.3
Essex Portfolio, L.P. [Member] | General Partner [Member]
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	65,988,761	65,527,993
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	65,988,761	65,527,993
Essex Portfolio, L.P. [Member] | Limited Partners [Member]
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	2,251,112	2,237,290
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	2,251,112	2,237,290