Organization (Details)			3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012 PartnershipUnit Property	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 Conventional Real Estate Operations [Member] Property	Mar. 31, 2012 Affordable Real Estate Operations [Member] Property
Real Estate Property [Line Items]
Number of owned real estate properties in segments			196	165
Number of units in owned real estate properties in segments			62,420	19,947
Number of consolidated properties	2		190	132
Number of units in consolidated real estate properties			60,974	17,040
Percentage of proportionate property net operating income generated by segment			88.00%	12.00%
Organization (Textual) [Abstract]
Number of units for which asset or property management services were provided	8,569
Number of properties for which asset or property management services were provided	126
Aimco's ownership interest in AIMCO Properties, L.P.	93.70%
Shares of common stock outstanding	121,351,204	120,916,294
Common OP units and equivalents of the Aimco Operating Partnership	129,459,034

Common Op units and equivalents of operating partnership.

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- Definition

Number of consolidated properties.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Number of properties for which asset or property management services were provided.

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No definition available.

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Number of units for which asset or property management services were provided.

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- Definition

Number of units in real estate properties consolidated by the Company.

+ References

No definition available.

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Percentage of proportionate property net operating income generated by segment.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Total number of shares of common stock held by shareholders. May be all or portion of the number of common shares authorized. These shares represent the ownership interest of the common shareholders. Shares outstanding equals shares issued minus shares held in treasury and other adjustments, if any.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 505

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04)

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-Publisher AICPA

-Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)

-Number 12

-Paragraph 10

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.29)

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-Publisher SEC

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-Number 210

-Section 04

-Article 3

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-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 30

-Article 5

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- Definition

The parent entity's interest in net assets of the subsidiary, expressed as a percentage.

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- Definition

The number of real estate properties owned as of the balance sheet date.

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- Definition

The number of units in a real estate property owned as of the balance sheet date.

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No definition available.

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