Organization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Organization	1. ORGANIZATION Effective August 15, 2016, the Parent Company changed its name from “Sovran Self Storage, Inc.” to “Life Storage, Inc.” and the Operating Partnership changed its name from “Sovran Acquisition Limited Partnership” to “Life Storage LP”. Also, consistent with these name changes, and in connection with the rebranding of our storage facilities from “Uncle Bob’s Self Storage^®” to “Life Storage^®”, the name of the general partner of the Operating Partnership has been changed from “Sovran Holdings, Inc.” to “Life Storage Holdings, Inc.” and the name of the Parent Company’s taxable REIT subsidiary changed from “Uncle Bob’s Management, LLC” to “Life Storage Solutions, LLC”. The Parent Company, which operates as a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (a “REIT”), was formed on April 19, 1995 to own and operate self-storage facilities throughout the United States. On June 26, 1995, the Parent Company commenced operations effective with the completion of its initial public offering. The Parent Company, the Operating Partnership and their consolidated subsidiaries are collectively referred to in this report as the “Company.” In addition, terms such as “we,” “us,” or “our” used in this report may refer to the Company, the Parent Company and/or the Operating Partnership. At December 31, 2016, we had an ownership interest in, and/or managed 659 self-storage properties in 29 states under the names Life Storage^® and Uncle Bob’s Self Storage^®. Among our 659 self-storage properties are 39 properties that we manage for an unconsolidated joint venture (Sovran HHF Storage Holdings LLC) of which we are a 20% owner, 30 properties that we manage for an unconsolidated joint venture (Sovran HHF Storage Holdings II LLC) of which we are a 15% owner, and 26 properties that we manage and have no ownership interest. Approximately 38% of the Company’s revenue is derived from stores in the states of Texas and Florida.

1. ORGANIZATION

Effective August 15, 2016, the Parent Company changed its name from “Sovran Self Storage, Inc.” to “Life Storage, Inc.” and the Operating Partnership changed its name from “Sovran Acquisition Limited Partnership” to “Life Storage LP”. Also, consistent with these name changes, and in connection with the rebranding of our storage facilities from “Uncle Bob’s Self Storage^®” to “Life Storage^®”, the name of the general partner of the Operating Partnership has been changed from “Sovran Holdings, Inc.” to “Life Storage Holdings, Inc.” and the name of the Parent Company’s taxable REIT subsidiary changed from “Uncle Bob’s Management, LLC” to “Life Storage Solutions, LLC”.

The Parent Company, which operates as a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (a “REIT”), was formed on April 19, 1995 to own and operate self-storage facilities throughout the United States. On June 26, 1995, the Parent Company commenced operations effective with the completion of its initial public offering. The Parent Company, the Operating Partnership and their consolidated subsidiaries are collectively referred to in this report as the “Company.” In addition, terms such as “we,” “us,” or “our” used in this report may refer to the Company, the Parent Company and/or the Operating Partnership.

At December 31, 2016, we had an ownership interest in, and/or managed 659 self-storage properties in 29 states under the names Life Storage^® and Uncle Bob’s Self Storage^®. Among our 659 self-storage properties are 39 properties that we manage for an unconsolidated joint venture (Sovran HHF Storage Holdings LLC) of which we are a 20% owner, 30 properties that we manage for an unconsolidated joint venture (Sovran HHF Storage Holdings II LLC) of which we are a 15% owner, and 26 properties that we manage and have no ownership interest. Approximately 38% of the Company’s revenue is derived from stores in the states of Texas and Florida.