Condensed Consolidated Statement of Capital (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Accounting standards update [Extensible List]			us-gaap:AccountingStandardsUpdate201613Member	us-gaap:AccountingStandardsUpdate201712Member
Essex Portfolio, L.P.
Distribution declared (in dollars per share)	$ 2.0775	$ 1.95	$ 6.2325	$ 5.85
Accounting standards update [Extensible List]			us-gaap:AccountingStandardsUpdate201613Member	us-gaap:AccountingStandardsUpdate201712Member