ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Details Narrative) $ in Thousands		9 Months Ended
Nov. 19, 2018 USD ($) Number	Sep. 30, 2019 ft² a Number
Acres of land \| a		2,310
Victory Abode Apartments, LLC [Member]
Percentage of ownership		50.00%
Number of income-producing properties	49	51
Cash consideration \| $	$ 236,800
Number of apartment units		9,643
Projects in development	3
Commercial lProperties [Member]
Number of income-producing properties		7
Rentable square feet \| ft²		1,700,000
Office Buildings [Member]
Number of income-producing properties		5
Retail Properties [Member]
Number of income-producing properties		2
Apartment Buildings [Member]
Number of income-producing properties		9
Number of apartment units		1,512
TCI [Member]
Ownership interest		78.00%
Income Opportunity Realty Investors, Inc. [Member] \| TCI [Member]
Ownership interest		81.25%
Victory Abode Apartments, LLC [Member] \| Class A [Member] \| Abode JVP, LLC [Member]
Voting interest in joint venture		50.00%
Profit participation rights percentage		49.00%
Victory Abode Apartments, LLC [Member] \| Class A [Member] \| Summerset Intermediate Holdings 2 LLC [Member]
Voting interest in joint venture		50.00%
Profit participation rights percentage		49.00%
Victory Abode Apartments, LLC [Member] \| Daniel J. Moos ARL's President and Chief Executive Officer [Member] \| Class B [Member]
Profit participation rights percentage		2.00%
Minimum [Member] \| Related Parties [Member] \| ARL [Member]
Ownership interest		80.00%
Buildings And Improvements [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Useful life of fixed assets		10 years
Buildings And Improvements [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Useful life of fixed assets		40 years
Furniture, Fixtures And Equipment [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Useful life of fixed assets		5 years
Furniture, Fixtures And Equipment [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Useful life of fixed assets		10 years

The percentage of profit participation rights.

No definition available.

Name:	arl_ProfitParticipationRightsPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	arl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The number of projects in development.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	arl_ProjectsInDevelopment
Namespace Prefix:	arl_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Voting interest in joint venture.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	arl_VotingInterestInJointVenture
Namespace Prefix:	arl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Area of land held.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AreaOfLand
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:areaItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of consideration transferred, consisting of acquisition-date fair value of assets transferred by the acquirer, liabilities incurred by the acquirer, and equity interest issued by the acquirer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 30
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116859721&loc=d3e6613-128477

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744584&loc=d3e6927-128479

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 30
-Paragraph 7
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116859721&loc=d3e6578-128477

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 323
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114001798&loc=d3e33918-111571

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentOwnershipPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

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

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_MinorityInterestOwnershipPercentageByParent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Net rentable area for properties owned.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NetRentableArea
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:areaItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- 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

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

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentUsefulLife
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=arl_VictoryAbodeApartmentsLLCMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=arl_CommercialPropertyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=srt_OfficeBuildingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=srt_RetailSiteMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateDescriptionTypeOfPropertyAxis=srt_ApartmentBuildingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_OwnershipAxis=arl_TranscontinentalRealtyInvestorsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_OwnershipAxis=arl_IncomeOpportunityRealtyInvestorsIncMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=arl_TranscontinentalRealtyInvestorsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_OwnershipAxis=arl_VictoryAbodeApartmentsLLCMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis=us-gaap_CommonClassAMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=arl_AbodeJypLlcMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=arl_SummersetIntermediateHoldings2LLCMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_TitleOfIndividualAxis=srt_ChiefExecutiveOfficerMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis=us-gaap_CommonClassBMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis=arl_RelatedPartyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_OwnershipAxis=arl_AmericanRealtyInvestorsIncMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_BuildingAndBuildingImprovementsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_MachineryAndEquipmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: