Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (Parenthetical) - USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020
Marketable securities, allowance for credit loss	$ 0	$ 0
Notes and other receivables, allowance for credit loss	876,000	751,000
Related party receivables	$ 57,600,000	$ 4,700,000
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)	64,998,910	64,999,015
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	64,998,910	64,999,015
Essex Portfolio, L.P.
Marketable securities, allowance for credit loss	$ 0	$ 0
Notes and other receivables, allowance for credit loss	900,000	800,000
Related party receivables	$ 57,600,000	$ 4,700,000
Essex Portfolio, L.P. | General Partner
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	64,998,910	64,999,015
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	64,998,910	64,999,015
Essex Portfolio, L.P. | Limited Partners
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	2,293,760	2,294,760
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	2,293,760	2,294,760