Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies (Details) ft² in Millions, $ in Millions	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) a ft² shares	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Rentable square feet of commercial real estate properties (in sq feet) | ft²	30.5
Rentable square feet of commercial real estate properties under development (in sq feet) | ft²	2.0
Undeveloped land suitable for future development (in acres) | a	400
Self insurance liability | $	$ 0.7
Accounting Standards Update 2016-18 [Member]
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Net increase in investing activities, effect of adoption, quantification | $		$ 8.5
Highwoods Properties, Inc. [Member]
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Common Units of partnership owned by the Company (in shares)	103,100,000
Percentage of ownership of Common Units (in hundredths)	97.40%
Common Units redeemed for a like number of common shares of stock (in shares)	23,196
Highwoods Realty Limited Partnership [Member]
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Common Units of partnership not owned by the Company (in shares)	2,800,000