Expected Proceeds from Sale of Property Held-for-sale

No definition available.

Name:	amh_ExpectedProceedsfromSaleofPropertyHeldforsale
Namespace Prefix:	amh_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Number of Real Estate Properties Held-for-Sale in Escrow

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	amh_NumberofRealEstatePropertiesHeldforSaleinEscrow
Namespace Prefix:	amh_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of discretionary contributions made by an employer to a defined contribution plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerDiscretionaryContributionAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of realized gain (loss) from sale of investment in equity security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in net income (FV-NI).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 321
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84241550&loc=SL75117546-209714

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EquitySecuritiesFvNiRealizedGainLoss
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The minimum amount the entity agreed to spend under the long-term purchase commitment.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermPurchaseCommitmentAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

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

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfRealEstateProperties
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PurchaseCommitmentExcludingLongtermCommitmentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis=amh_SilverBayRealtyTrustCorp.Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermPurchaseCommitmentByCategoryOfItemPurchasedAxis=srt_SingleFamilyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermPurchaseCommitmentByCategoryOfItemPurchasedAxis=us-gaap_LandMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PurchaseCommitmentExcludingLongtermCommitmentAxis=amh_CommitmentToAcquirePropertiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) single_family_property	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) single_family_property	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Commitments and contingencies
Number of real estate properties held-for-sale in escrow \| single_family_property	78	69
Expected proceeds from sale of property held-for-sale	$ 13.6	$ 7.0
Company contributions	1.3	0.9	$ 0.7
Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp.
Commitments and contingencies
Gain on sale of equity instruments		3.0
Single Family
Commitments and contingencies
Third party development agreements and land	25.3	128.1
Land
Commitments and contingencies
Third party development agreements and land	$ 58.1	$ 24.0
Commitment to acquire properties
Commitments and contingencies
Number of properties \| single_family_property	88	520