Net Income Per Common Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Earnings per Share
Net income (loss)	$ 19,858	$ 17,552
Less net income allocated to participating securities:
Nonforfeitable dividends on participating securities	(101)	(123)
Total net income allocated to participating securities	(101)	(123)
Less net income allocated to preferred stockholders:
Preferred stock dividends		(818)
Total net income allocated to preferred stockholders		(818)
Net income available to common stockholders	19,757	16,611
Effect of dilutive securities:
Convertible preferred securities		818
Total effect of dilutive securities		818
Net income for diluted net income per share	$ 19,757	$ 17,429
Shares for basic net income per share	37,446	35,277
Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock options (in shares)	13	15
Convertible preferred securities (in shares)		2,000
Total effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	13	2,015
Shares for diluted net income per share	37,459	37,292
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.53	$ 0.47
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.53	$ 0.47

Represents the amount of nonforfeitable dividends on participating securities.

No definition available.

Name:	ltc_NonforfeitableDividendsOnParticipatingSecurities
Namespace Prefix:	ltc_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) to net income used for calculating diluted earnings per share (EPS), resulting from the assumed exercise stock options, restrictive stock units (RSUs), convertible preferred stock of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), and other dilutive convertible securities.