v2.4.0.6

Capital Stock (Details 3) | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2011 Y
Excess Share Provision |
Percentage of beneficial ownership of common stock acquired used as threshold for determining excess shares | 9.00%
Percentage of beneficial ownership of preferred stock acquired used as threshold for determining excess shares | 9.90%
Maximum deferral payment period of purchase price for excess shares (in years) | 5
Distribution Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan |
Discount on purchase price of common stock to shareholders reinvesting their dividends and/or make optional cash purchases through the DRIP (as a percent) | 1.00%

X
- Definition Represents the discount on purchase price of common stock to shareholders that reinvest their dividends and/or make optional cash purchases through the distribution reinvestment and stock purchase plan. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | vtr_CommonStockDistributionReinvestmentAndStockPurchasePlanDiscountOnPurchasePriceOfCommonStock
Namespace Prefix: | vtr_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of beneficial ownership of common stock acquired which is used as a threshold for determining excess shares. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | vtr_CommonStockOutstandingPercentageOfBeneficialOwnershipAcquiredThresholdForExcessShares
Namespace Prefix: | vtr_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Details
Name: | vtr_DistributionReinvestmentAndStockPurchasePlanAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | vtr_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | vtr_ExcessShareProvisionAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | vtr_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the maximum deferral payment period of the purchase price for excess shares. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | vtr_MaximumDeferralPaymentPeriodOfPurchasePriceForExcessShares
Namespace Prefix: | vtr_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the percentage of beneficial ownership of preferred stock acquired which is used as a threshold for determining excess shares. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | vtr_PreferredStockOutstandingPercentageOfBeneficialOwnershipAcquiredThresholdForExcessShares
Namespace Prefix: | vtr_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant