Variable Interest Entities (Details) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($) Property Units Entity	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) Property Units Entity
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets and Liabilities, Net [Abstract]
Net real estate	$ 5,643,853	$ 5,723,475
Cash and cash equivalents	162,286	36,858
Restricted cash	36,103	35,737
Assets held for sale	0	42,393
Other Assets	441,527	351,541
Non-recourse property debt secured by Aimco communities, net	3,859,023	3,915,305
Accrued liabilities and other	293,279	226,230
Liabilities related to assets held for sale	$ 0	$ 23,177
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of consolidated variable interest entities | Entity	9	9
Number of apartment communities | Property	9	9
Number of apartment homes owned by VIEs | Units	3,592	3,592
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets and Liabilities, Net [Abstract]
Net real estate	$ 494,193	$ 488,127
Cash and cash equivalents	17,508	15,416
Restricted cash	4,868	4,461
Other Assets	28,500	3,973
Non-recourse property debt secured by Aimco communities, net	320,995	322,685
Accrued liabilities and other	$ 39,639	$ 13,576