Equity Residential - 10-K annual report

FORM 10-K

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number: 0-24920 (ERP Operating Limited Partnership)

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

(Title of each class)

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). 

The Company is structured as an umbrella partnership REIT (“UPREIT”) and contributes all net proceeds from its various equity offerings to the Operating Partnership. In return for those contributions, the Company receives a number of OP Units (see definition below) in the Operating Partnership equal to the number of Common Shares it has issued in the equity offering. Contributions of properties to the Company can be structured as tax-deferred transactions through the issuance of OP Units in the Operating Partnership, which is one of the reasons why the Company is structured in the manner shown above. Based on the terms of ERPOP's partnership agreement, OP Units can be exchanged with Common Shares on a one-for-one basis. The Company maintains a one-for-one relationship between the OP Units of the Operating Partnership issued to EQR and the Common Shares.

The Company believes that combining the reports on Form 10-K of EQR and ERPOP into this single report provides the following benefits:

Management operates the Company and the Operating Partnership as one business. The management of EQR consists of the same members as the management of ERPOP.

The Company believes it is important to understand the few differences between EQR and ERPOP in the context of how EQR and ERPOP operate as a consolidated company. All of the Company's property ownership, development and related business operations are conducted through the Operating Partnership and EQR has no material assets or liabilities other than its investment in ERPOP. EQR's primary function is acting as the general partner of ERPOP. EQR also issues equity from time to time and guarantees certain debt of ERPOP, as disclosed in this report. EQR does not have any indebtedness as all debt is incurred by the Operating Partnership. The Operating Partnership holds substantially all of the assets of the Company, including the Company's ownership interests in its joint ventures. The Operating Partnership conducts the operations of the business and is structured as a partnership with no publicly traded equity. Except for the net proceeds from equity offerings by the Company, which are contributed

to the capital of the Operating Partnership in exchange for additional limited partnership interests in the Operating Partnership (“OP Units”) (on a one-for-one Common Share per OP Unit basis), the Operating Partnership generates all remaining capital required by the Company's business. These sources include the Operating Partnership's working capital, net cash provided by operating activities, borrowings under its revolving credit facility, the issuance of secured and unsecured debt and equity securities and proceeds received from disposition of certain properties and joint ventures.

Shareholders' equity, partners' capital and noncontrolling interests are the main areas of difference between the consolidated financial statements of the Company and those of the Operating Partnership. The limited partners of the Operating Partnership are accounted for as partners' capital in the Operating Partnership's financial statements and as noncontrolling interests in the Company's financial statements. The noncontrolling interests in the Operating Partnership's financial statements include the interests of unaffiliated partners in various consolidated partnerships and development joint venture partners. The noncontrolling interests in the Company's financial statements include the same noncontrolling interests at the Operating Partnership level and limited partner OP Unit holders of the Operating Partnership. The differences between shareholders' equity and partners' capital result from differences in the equity issued at the Company and Operating Partnership levels.

To help investors understand the significant differences between the Company and the Operating Partnership, this report provides separate consolidated financial statements for the Company and the Operating Partnership; a single set of consolidated notes to such financial statements that includes separate discussions of each entity's debt, noncontrolling interests and shareholders' equity or partners' capital, as applicable; and a combined Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section that includes discrete information related to each entity.

This report also includes separate Part II, Item 9A. Controls and Procedures sections and separate Exhibits 31 and 32 certifications for each of the Company and the Operating Partnership in order to establish that the requisite certifications have been made and that the Company and the Operating Partnership are compliant with Rule 13a-15 or Rule 15d-15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C. §1350.

 

In order to highlight the differences between the Company and the Operating Partnership, the separate sections in this report for the Company and the Operating Partnership specifically refer to the Company and the Operating Partnership. In the sections that combine disclosure of the Company and the Operating Partnership, this report refers to actions or holdings as being actions or holdings of the Company. Although the Operating Partnership is generally the entity that directly or indirectly enters into contracts and joint ventures and holds assets and debt, reference to the Company is appropriate because the Company is one business and the Company operates that business through the Operating Partnership.

 

As general partner with control of the Operating Partnership, the Company consolidates the Operating Partnership for financial reporting purposes, and EQR essentially has no assets or liabilities other than its investment in ERPOP. Therefore, the assets and liabilities of the Company and the Operating Partnership are the same on their respective financial statements. The separate discussions of the Company and the Operating Partnership in this report should be read in conjunction with each other to understand the results of the Company on a consolidated basis and how management operates the Company.

EQUITY RESIDENTIAL

ERP OPERATING LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

PART I

Item 1. Business

General

Equity Residential (“EQR”), a Maryland real estate investment trust (“REIT”) formed in March 1993, is an S&P 500 company focused on the acquisition, development and management of high quality apartment properties in top United States growth markets. ERP Operating Limited Partnership (“ERPOP”), an Illinois limited partnership, was formed in May 1993 to conduct the multifamily residential property business of Equity Residential. EQR has elected to be taxed as a REIT. References to the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” mean collectively EQR, ERPOP and those entities/subsidiaries owned or controlled by EQR and/or ERPOP. References to the “Operating Partnership” mean collectively ERPOP and those entities/subsidiaries owned or controlled by ERPOP.

Certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. See also Note 17 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional discussion regarding the Company’s segment disclosures.

The Company invests in high quality apartment communities located in strategically targeted markets with the goal of maximizing our risk adjusted total return (operating income plus capital appreciation) on invested capital.

We seek to maximize the income and capital appreciation of our properties by investing in markets that are characterized by conditions favorable to multifamily property operations and appreciation. We are focused primarily on the six core coastal, high barrier to entry markets of Boston, New York, Washington DC, Southern California (including Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego), San Francisco and Seattle. These markets generally feature one or more of the following characteristics that allow us to increase rents:

Our operating focus is on balancing occupancy and rental rates to maximize our revenue while exercising tight cost control to generate the highest possible return to our shareholders. Revenue is maximized by attracting qualified prospects to our properties, cost-effectively converting these prospects into new residents and keeping our residents satisfied so they will renew their leases upon expiration. While we believe that it is our high-quality, well-located assets that bring our customers to us, it is the customer service and superior value provided by our on-site personnel that keeps them renting with us and recommending us to their friends.

We use technology to engage our customers in the way that they want to be engaged. Many of our residents utilize our web-based resident portal which allows them to sign and renew their leases, review their accounts and make payments, provide feedback and make service requests on-line.

Acquisitions and developments may be financed from various sources of capital, which may include retained cash flow, issuance of additional equity and debt, sales of properties and joint venture agreements. In addition, the Company may acquire properties in transactions that include the issuance of limited partnership interests in the Operating Partnership (“OP Units”) as consideration for the acquired properties. Such transactions may, in certain circumstances, enable the sellers to defer, in whole or in part, the recognition of taxable income or gain that might otherwise result from the sales. The Company may acquire land parcels to hold and/or sell based on market opportunities as well as options to buy more land in the future. The Company may also seek to acquire properties by purchasing defaulted or distressed debt that encumbers desirable properties in the hope of obtaining title to property through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure proceedings.

We endeavor to attract and retain the best employees by providing them with the education, resources and opportunities to succeed. We provide many classroom and on-line training courses to assist our employees in interacting with prospects and residents as well as extensively train our customer service specialists in maintaining our properties and improvements, equipment and appliances. We actively promote from within and many senior corporate and property leaders have risen from entry level or junior positions. We monitor our employees' engagement by surveying them annually and have consistently received high engagement scores.

We have a commitment to sustainability and consider the environmental impacts of our business activities. Sustainability and social responsibility are key drivers of our focus on creating the best apartment communities for residents to live, work and play. We have a dedicated in-house team that initiates and applies sustainable practices in all aspects of our business, including investment activities, development, property operations and property management activities. With its high density, multifamily housing is, by its nature, an environmentally friendly property type. Our recent acquisition and development activities have been

On February 27, 2013, the Company, AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (“AVB”) and certain of their respective subsidiaries completed their previously announced acquisition (the “Archstone Acquisition” or the "Archstone Transaction") from Archstone Enterprise LP (“Enterprise”) (which subsequently changed its name to Jupiter Enterprise LP), an affiliate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“Lehman”) and its affiliates, of all of the assets of Enterprise (including interests in various entities affiliated with Enterprise), constituting a portfolio of apartment properties and other assets (the “Archstone Portfolio”). As a result of the Archstone Acquisition, the Company owns assets representing approximately 60% of the Archstone Portfolio. The consideration paid by the Company in connection with the Archstone Acquisition consisted of cash of approximately $4.0 billion (inclusive of $2.0 billion of Archstone secured mortgage principal paid off in conjunction with the closing), 34,468,085 Common Shares (which shares had a total value of $1.9 billion based on the February 27, 2013 closing price of EQR common shares of $55.99 per share) issued to the seller and the assumption of approximately $3.1 billion of mortgage debt (inclusive of a net mark-to-market premium of $127.9 million) and approximately 60% of all of the other assets and liabilities related to the Archstone Portfolio. See Note 4 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion.

EQR issues public equity from time to time and guarantees certain debt of ERPOP. EQR does not have any indebtedness as all debt is incurred by the Operating Partnership. In addition, ERPOP issues OP Units and preference interests ("Preference Units") from time to time.

EQR does not have any indebtedness as all debt is incurred by the Operating Partnership. EQR guarantees the Operating Partnership’s revolving credit facility up to the maximum amount and for the full term of the facility.

On January 11, 2013, the Company replaced its existing $1.75 billion facility with a $2.5 billion unsecured revolving credit facility maturing April 1, 2018. The Company has the ability to increase available borrowings by an additional $500.0 million by adding additional banks to the facility or obtaining the agreement of existing banks to increase their commitments. The interest rate on advances under the facility will generally be LIBOR plus a spread (currently 1.05%) and the Company pays an annual facility fee (currently 15 basis points). Both the spread and the facility fee are dependent on the credit rating of the Company's long-term debt.

   

Environmental Considerations

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The occurrence of the events discussed in the following risk factors could adversely affect, possibly in a material manner, our business, financial condition or results of operations, which could adversely affect the value of our common shares of beneficial interest or preferred shares of beneficial interest (which we refer to collectively as “Shares”), Preference Units, OP Units, restricted units (formerly known as Long-Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP") Units) and our public unsecured debt. In this section, we refer to the Shares, Preference Units, OP Units, restricted units and public unsecured debt together as our “securities” and the investors who own such securities as our “security holders”.

Real property investments are subject to varying degrees of risk and are relatively illiquid. Numerous factors may adversely affect the economic performance and value of our properties and the ability to realize that value. These factors include changes in the global, national, regional and local economic climates, local conditions such as an oversupply of multifamily properties or a reduction in demand for our multifamily properties, the attractiveness of our properties to residents, competition from other multifamily properties and single family homes and changes in market rental rates. Our performance also depends on our ability to collect rent from residents and to pay for adequate maintenance, insurance and other operating costs, including real estate taxes, all of which could increase over time. These operating expenses could rise faster than our revenues causing our income to decline. Sources of labor and materials required for maintenance, repair, capital expenditure or development may be more expensive than anticipated. Also, the expenses of owning and operating a property are not necessarily reduced when circumstances such as market factors and competition cause a reduction in income from the property.

When our residents decide to leave our apartments, whether because they decide not to renew their leases or they leave prior to their lease expiration date, we may not be able to relet their apartment units. Even if the residents do renew or we can relet the apartment units, the terms of renewal or reletting may be less favorable than current lease terms. If we are unable to promptly renew the leases or relet the apartment units, or if the rental rates upon renewal or reletting are significantly lower than expected rates, then our results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected. If residents do not experience increases in their income, we may be unable to increase rent and/or delinquencies may increase. Occupancy levels and market rents may be adversely affected by national and local economic and market conditions including, without limitation, new construction and excess inventory of multifamily and single family housing, increasing portions of single family housing stock being converted to rental use, rental housing subsidized by the government, other government programs that favor single family rental housing or owner occupied housing over multifamily rental housing, governmental regulations, slow or negative employment growth and household formation, the availability of low-interest mortgages or the availability of mortgages requiring little or no down payment for single family home buyers, changes in social preferences and the potential for geopolitical instability, all of which are beyond the Company's control. In addition, various state and local municipalities are considering and may continue to consider rent control legislation or take other actions which could limit our ability to raise rents. Finally, the federal government's policies, many of which may encourage home ownership, can increase competition and possibly limit our ability to raise rents. Consequently, our cash flow and ability to service debt and make distributions to security holders could be reduced.

of competitive alternatives may affect our ability to lease space and the level of rents we can obtain. If our retail/commercial tenants experience financial distress or bankruptcy, they may fail to comply with their contractual obligations, seek concessions in order to continue operations or cease their operations which could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition. The revenues from our retail/commercial space represent approximately 4% of our total rental income.

Real estate investments generally cannot be sold quickly. We may not be able to reconfigure our portfolio promptly in response to economic or other conditions. This inability to reallocate our capital promptly could adversely affect our financial condition and ability to make distributions to our security holders.

We intend to actively acquire, develop and rehab multifamily properties for rental operations as market conditions dictate. We may also acquire multifamily properties that are unoccupied or in the early stages of lease up. We may be unable to lease up these apartment properties on schedule, resulting in decreases in expected rental revenues and/or lower yields due to lower occupancy and rates as well as higher than expected concessions or higher than expected operating expenses. We may not be able to achieve rents that are consistent with expectations for acquired, developed or rehabbed properties. We may underestimate the costs necessary to bring an acquired property up to standards established for its intended market position, to complete a development property or to complete a rehab. Additionally, we expect that other real estate investors with capital will compete with us for attractive investment opportunities or may also develop properties in markets where we focus our development and acquisition efforts. This competition (or lack thereof) may increase (or depress) prices for multifamily properties. We may not be in a position or have the opportunity in the future to make suitable property acquisitions on favorable terms. We have acquired in the past and intend to continue to pursue the acquisition of properties and portfolios of properties, including large portfolios, that could increase our size and result in alterations to our capital structure. The total number of apartment units under development, costs of development and estimated completion dates are subject to uncertainties arising from changing economic conditions (such as the cost of labor and construction materials), competition and local government regulation.

In connection with such government regulation, we may incur liability if our properties are not constructed and operated in compliance with the accessibility provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act or other federal, state or local requirements. Noncompliance could result in fines, subject us to lawsuits and require us to remediate or repair the noncompliance.

We intend to continue to develop multifamily properties. These activities can include long planning and entitlement timelines and can involve complex and costly activities, including significant environmental remediation or construction work in high-density urban areas. We may abandon opportunities that we have already begun to explore for a number of reasons, including changes in local market conditions or increases in construction or financing costs, and, as a result, we may fail to recover expenses already incurred in exploring those opportunities. The occupancy rates and rents at a property may fail to meet our original expectations for a number of reasons, including changes in market and economic conditions beyond our control and the development by competitors of competing properties. We may be unable to obtain, or experience delays in obtaining, necessary zoning, occupancy, or other required governmental or third party permits and authorizations, which could result in increased costs or the delay or abandonment of opportunities.

We currently do and may continue in the future to develop and acquire properties in joint ventures with other persons or entities when we believe circumstances warrant the use of such structures. A portion of the assets acquired in the Archstone Transaction were acquired through joint ventures with AVB that neither we nor AVB control solely. We have several joint ventures with other real estate investors. Joint venture investments, including the joint ventures with AVB, involve risks not present with respect to our wholly owned properties, including the following:

At times we have entered into agreements providing for joint and several liability with our partners. Frequently, we and our partners may each have the right to trigger a buy-sell arrangement, which could cause us to sell our interest, or acquire our partners' interest, at a time when we otherwise would not have initiated such a transaction. Any of these risks could materially and adversely affect our ability to generate and recognize attractive returns on our joint venture investments, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and distributions to our shareholders.

Several of the assets we acquired in the Archstone Transaction were contributed to Archstone subject to various agreements limiting the ability of the owner of the property to take actions that would trigger income tax liability for the contributing owner of the property, including a taxable disposition of the property. In addition, we will also be required to maintain a certain amount of qualified nonrecourse financing on the tax protected properties during their respective restricted periods. Our obligations relating to the tax protected properties may affect the way in which we conduct our business, including whether, when and under what circumstances we sell properties or interests therein and the timing and nature of our financings and refinancing transactions. As a result, we may not be able to dispose of or refinance the tax protected properties when to do so may have otherwise been favorable to us and our shareholders, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Certain preferred interests acquired in joint ventures with AVB as part of the Archstone Transaction have complex tax requirements that, if violated, may cause us to be required to indemnify the preferred stockholders for certain tax protection costs.

The stock markets, including the New York Stock Exchange, on which we list our Common Shares, have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations over time. As a result, the market price of our Common Shares could be similarly volatile, and investors in our Common Shares may experience a decrease in the value of their shares, including decreases unrelated to our

operating performance or prospects. The market price of our Common Shares may decline or fluctuate significantly in response to many factors, including but not limited to the following:

We generally consider our cash flows provided by operating activities after capital expenditures to be adequate to meet operating requirements and payment of distributions to our security holders. However, there may be times when we experience shortfalls in our coverage of distributions, which may cause us to consider reducing our distributions and/or using the proceeds from property dispositions or additional financing transactions to make up the difference. Should these shortfalls occur for lengthy periods of time or be material in nature, our financial condition may be adversely affected and we may not be able to maintain our current distribution levels. While our current dividend policy makes it less likely we will over distribute, it will also lead to a dividend reduction more quickly should operating results deteriorate. See Item 7 for additional discussion regarding our dividend policy.

From time to time, the Company holds investment securities and/or cash investments that have various levels of repayment and liquidity risk, including government obligations and bond funds, money market funds or bank deposits. On occasion we also may purchase securities of companies in our own industry as a means to invest funds. There may be times when we experience declines in the value of these investment securities, which may result in losses to the Company and our financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. Sometimes the cash we deposit at a bank substantially exceeds the FDIC insurance limit or we invest cash in money market or similar type funds with investment management institutions that may be subject to, now or in the future, liquidity restrictions, resulting in risk to the Company of loss or lack of immediate availability of funds if these banks or institutions fail to meet their obligations.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. If we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our share price.

    

A cyber incident is considered to be any adverse event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information resources. More specifically, a cyber incident is an intentional attack or an unintentional event that can include gaining unauthorized access to systems to disrupt operations, corrupt data or steal confidential information, including information regarding our residents and employees. As our reliance on technology has increased, so have the risks posed to our systems, both internal and those we have outsourced to third party service providers. In addition, information security risks have generally increased in recent years due to the rise in new technologies and the increased sophistication and activities of perpetrators of cyber attacks. Our primary risks that could directly result from the occurrence of a cyber incident include operational interruption, damage to our reputation, damage to our business relationships with our residents/tenants and private data exposure. We have implemented processes, procedures and controls to help mitigate these risks, but these measures, as well as our increased awareness of a risk of a cyber incident, do not guarantee that our financial results will not be negatively impacted by such an incident.

We are generally not able to pass through to our residents under existing leases any real estate or other federal, state or local taxes. Consequently, any such tax increases may adversely affect our financial condition and limit our ability to make distributions to our security holders.

We may become involved in legal proceedings, including but not limited to, proceedings related to consumer, shareholder, employment, environmental, development, condominium conversion, tort and commercial legal issues that, if decided adversely to or settled by us, could result in liability material to our financial condition or results of operations.

Federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment may require a current or previous owner or operator of real estate to investigate and clean up hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum product releases at such property. The owner or operator may have to pay a governmental entity or third parties for property damage and for investigation and clean-up costs incurred by such parties in connection with the contamination. These laws typically impose clean-up responsibility and liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of or caused the presence of the contaminants. Even if more than one person may have been responsible for the contamination, each person covered by the environmental laws may be held responsible for all of the clean-up costs incurred. In addition, third parties may sue the owner or operator of a site for damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from that site.

Substantially all of our properties have been the subject of environmental assessments completed by qualified independent environmental consulting companies. While these environmental assessments have not revealed, nor are we aware of, any environmental liability that our management believes would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity, there can be no assurance that we will not incur such liabilities in the future.

We are aware that some of our properties have lead paint and have implemented an operations and maintenance program at each of those properties. While we do not currently anticipate that we will incur any material liabilities as a result of the presence of lead paint at our properties, there can be no assurance that we will not incur such liabilities in the future.

There have been a number of lawsuits against owners and managers of multifamily properties alleging personal injury and property damage caused by the presence of mold in residential real estate. While we have adopted programs designed to minimize the existence of mold in any of our properties as well as guidelines for promptly addressing and resolving reports of mold to minimize any impact mold might have on our residents or the property, should mold become an issue in the future, our financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected.

We cannot be assured that existing environmental assessments of our properties reveal all environmental liabilities, that any prior owner of any of our properties did not create a material environmental condition not known to us, or that a material environmental condition does not otherwise exist as to any of our properties.

To the extent that climate change does occur, we may experience extreme weather and changes in precipitation and temperature, all of which may result in physical damage or a decrease in demand for properties located in these areas or affected by these conditions. Should the impact of climate change be material in nature, including destruction of our properties, or occur for lengthy periods of time, our financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected.

In addition, changes in federal and state legislation and regulation on climate change could result in increased capital expenditures to improve the energy efficiency of our existing properties and could also require us to spend more on our new development properties without a corresponding increase in revenue.

The Company also has $750.0 million in terrorism insurance coverage, with a $100,000 deductible. This coverage excludes losses from nuclear, biological and chemical attacks. In the event of a terrorist attack impacting one or more of our properties, we could lose the revenues from the property, our capital investment in the property and possibly face liability claims from residents or others suffering injuries or losses.

As of December 31, 2014, the Company's cyber liability insurance policy provides for a $5.0 million general limit and a per occurrence deductible of $250,000. Cyber liability insurance generally covers costs associated with the wrongful release, through inadvertent breach or network attack, of personally identifiable information such as social security or credit card numbers. This cyber policy would cover the cost of victim notification, credit monitoring and other crisis response expenses.

The Company relies on third party insurance providers for its property, general liability and worker's compensation insurance. While there has yet to be any non-performance by these major insurance providers, should any of them experience liquidity issues or other financial distress, it could negatively impact the Company. In addition, the Company annually assesses its insurance needs based on the cost of coverage and other factors. We may choose to self insure a greater portion of this risk in the future or may choose to have higher deductibles or lesser policy terms.

We have relationships with and, from time to time, we execute transactions with or receive services from many counterparties. As a result, defaults by counterparties could result in services not being provided, or volatility in the financial markets could affect counterparties' ability to complete transactions with us as intended, both of which could result in disruptions to our operations that may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Dislocations and liquidity disruptions in capital and credit markets could impact liquidity in the debt markets, resulting in financing terms that are less attractive to us and/or the unavailability of certain types of debt financing. Should the capital and credit markets experience volatility and the availability of funds again become limited, or be available only on unattractive terms, we will incur increased costs associated with issuing debt instruments. In addition, it is possible that our ability to access the capital and credit markets may be limited or precluded by these or other factors at a time when we would like, or need, to do so, which would adversely impact our ability to refinance maturing debt and/or react to changing economic and business conditions. Uncertainty in the credit markets could negatively impact our ability to make acquisitions and make it more difficult or not possible for us to sell properties or may adversely affect the price we receive for properties that we do sell, as prospective buyers may experience increased costs of debt financing or difficulties in obtaining debt financing. Potential continued disruptions in the financial markets could also have other unknown adverse effects on us or the economy generally and may cause the price of our securities to fluctuate significantly and/or to decline.

There is significant uncertainty surrounding the futures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “Government Sponsored Enterprises” or “GSEs”). Through their lender originator networks, the GSEs are significant lenders both to the Company and to buyers of the Company's properties. The GSEs have a mandate to support multifamily housing through their financing activities. Any changes to their mandates, further reductions in their size or the scale of their activities or loss of key personnel could have a significant impact on the Company and may, among other things, lead to lower values for our assets and higher interest rates on our borrowings. The GSE's regulator has set overall volume limits on most of the lending activities of the GSEs. For 2015, these activities are generally consistent with historical requirements and are not anticipated to materially impact the GSEs' overall multifamily lending activity. However, going forward the regulator could require the GSEs to focus more of their lending activities on small borrowers or properties that the regulator deems affordable, which may or may not include the Company's assets. Disruptions in the floating rate tax-exempt bond market (where interest rates reset weekly) and in the credit market's perception of the GSEs, which guarantee and provide liquidity for many of these bonds, have been experienced in the past and may be experienced in the future and could result in an increase in interest rates on these debt obligations. These bonds could also be put to our consolidated subsidiaries if the GSEs fail to satisfy their guaranty obligations. While this obligation is in almost all cases non-recourse to us, this could cause the Company to have to repay these obligations on short notice or risk foreclosure actions on the collateralized assets.

Although we have not experienced any material counterparty non-performance, disruptions in financial and credit markets could, among other things, impede the ability of our counterparties to perform on their contractual obligations. There are multiple

financial institutions that are individually committed to lend us varying amounts as part of our revolving credit facility. Should any of these institutions fail to fund their committed amounts when contractually required, our financial condition could be adversely affected. Should several of these institutions fail to fund, we could experience significant financial distress.

The Company also has developed assets with joint venture partners which were financed by financial institutions that have experienced varying degrees of distress in the past and could experience similar distress as economic conditions change. If one or more of these lenders fail to fund when contractually required, the Company or its joint venture partner may be unable to complete construction of its development properties.

A significant downgrade in our credit ratings, while not affecting our ability to draw proceeds under the revolving credit facility, would cause our borrowing costs to increase under the revolving credit facility, impact our ability to borrow secured and unsecured debt, impair our ability to access the commercial paper market or otherwise limit our access to capital. In addition, a downgrade below investment grade would require us to post cash collateral and/or letters of credit in favor of some of our secured lenders to cover our self-insured property and liability insurance deductibles or to obtain lower deductible insurance compliant with the lenders' requirements at the lower ratings level.

In the future, our cash flow could be insufficient to meet required payments of principal and interest or to pay distributions on our securities at expected levels.

We may not be able to refinance existing debt, including joint venture indebtedness (which in virtually all cases requires substantial principal payments at maturity) and, if we can, the terms of such refinancing might not be as favorable as the terms of existing indebtedness. If principal payments due at maturity cannot be refinanced, extended or paid with proceeds of other capital transactions, such as new equity capital, our operating cash flow will not be sufficient in all years to repay all maturing debt. As a result, certain of our other debt may cross default, we may be forced to postpone capital expenditures necessary for the maintenance of our properties, we may have to dispose of one or more properties on terms that would otherwise be unacceptable to us or we may be forced to allow the mortgage holder to foreclose on a property. Foreclosure on mortgaged properties or an inability to refinance existing indebtedness would likely have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Some of the properties were financed with tax-exempt bonds or otherwise contain certain restrictive covenants or deed restrictions, including affordability requirements. The Company, and from time to time its consultants, monitor compliance with the restrictive covenants and deed restrictions that affect these properties. If these compliance requirements restrict our ability to increase our rental rates to low or moderate-income residents, or eligible/qualified residents, then our income from these properties may be limited. While we generally believe that the interest rate benefit attendant to properties with tax-exempt bonds more than outweighs any loss of income due to restrictive covenants or deed restrictions, this may not always be the case. Some of these requirements are complex and our failure to comply with them may subject us to material fines or liabilities.

Advances under our credit facility bears interest at a variable rate based upon LIBOR at various interest periods, plus a spread dependent upon the Operating Partnership's credit rating, or based upon bids received from the lending group. Certain public issuances of our senior unsecured debt instruments may also, from time to time, bear interest at floating rates or be swapped to a floating rate of interest. We may also borrow additional money with variable interest rates in the future. Increases in interest rates would increase our interest expense under these debt instruments and would increase the costs of refinancing existing debt and of issuing new debt. Accordingly, higher interest rates could adversely affect cash flow and our ability to service our debt and make distributions to security holders.

In the normal course of business, we use derivatives to manage our exposure to interest rate volatility on debt instruments, including hedging for future debt issuances. At other times we may utilize derivatives to increase our exposure to floating interest rates. We may also use derivatives to manage our exposure to foreign exchange rates or manage commodity prices in the daily operations of our business. There can be no assurance that these hedging arrangements will have the desired beneficial impact. These arrangements, which can include a number of counterparties, may expose us to additional risks, including failure of any of our counterparties to perform under these contracts, and may involve extensive costs, such as transaction fees or breakage costs, if we terminate them. No strategy can completely insulate us from the risks associated with interest rate, foreign exchange or commodity pricing fluctuations.

We depend on the efforts of the Chairman of our Board of Trustees, Samuel Zell, and our executive officers, particularly David J. Neithercut, our President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”). If they resign or otherwise cease to be employed by us, our operations could be temporarily adversely affected. Mr. Zell has entered into retirement benefit and noncompetition agreements with the Company.

The consent of certain affiliates of Mr. Zell is required for certain amendments to the Sixth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of the Operating Partnership (the “Partnership Agreement”). As a result of their security ownership and rights concerning amendments to the Partnership Agreement, the security holders referred to herein may have influence over the Company. Although to the Company's knowledge these security holders have not agreed to act together on any matter, they would be in a position to exercise even more influence over the Company's affairs if they were to act together in the future. This influence could conceivably be exercised in a manner that is inconsistent with the interests of other security holders. For additional information regarding the security ownership of our trustees, including Mr. Zell, and our executive officers, see Equity Residential's definitive proxy statement.

Certain provisions of our Declaration of Trust and Bylaws may delay or prevent a change in control of the Company or other transactions that could provide the security holders with a premium over the then-prevailing market price of their securities or which might otherwise be in the best interest of our security holders. This includes the 5% Ownership Limit described below. While our existing preferred shares/preference units do not have these provisions, any future series of preferred shares/preference units may have certain voting provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control or other transactions that might otherwise be in the interest of our security holders. Our Bylaws require certain information to be provided by any security holder, or persons acting in concert with such security holder, who proposes business or a nominee at an annual meeting of shareholders, including disclosure of information related to hedging activities and investment strategies with respect to our securities. These requirements could delay or prevent a change in control or other transactions that might otherwise be in the interest of our security holders.

To remain qualified as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding Shares may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals at any time during the last half of any year. To facilitate maintenance of our REIT qualification, our Declaration of Trust, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits ownership by any single shareholder of more than 5% of the lesser of the number or value of any outstanding class of common or preferred shares. We refer to this restriction as the “Ownership Limit.” Absent any exemption or waiver granted by our Board of Trustees, securities acquired or held in violation of the Ownership Limit will be transferred to a trust for the exclusive benefit of a designated charitable beneficiary, and the security holder's rights to distributions and to vote would terminate. A transfer of Shares may be void if it causes a person to violate the Ownership Limit. The Ownership Limit could delay or prevent a change in control and, therefore, could adversely affect our security holders' ability to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price for their Shares. To reduce the ability of the Board to use the Ownership Limit as an anti-takeover device, the Company's Ownership Limit requires, rather than permits, the Board to grant a waiver of the Ownership Limit if the individual seeking a waiver demonstrates that such ownership would not jeopardize the Company's status as a REIT. We have issued several of these waivers in the past.

Our Declaration of Trust authorizes the Board of Trustees to issue up to 100 million preferred shares, and to establish the preferences and rights (including the right to vote and the right to convert into common shares) of any preferred shares issued. The Board of Trustees may use its powers to issue preferred shares and to set the terms of such securities to delay or prevent a change in control of the Company, even if a change in control were in the interest of security holders.

Certain provisions of Maryland law applicable to real estate investment trusts prohibit “business combinations” (including certain issuances of equity securities) with any person who beneficially owns ten percent or more of the voting power of outstanding securities, or with an affiliate who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of ten percent or more of the voting power of the Company's outstanding voting securities (an “Interested Shareholder”), or with an affiliate of an Interested Shareholder. These prohibitions last for five years after the most recent date on which the Interested Shareholder became an Interested Shareholder. After the five-year period, a business combination with an Interested Shareholder must be approved by two super-majority shareholder votes unless, among other conditions, holders of common shares receive a minimum price for their shares and the consideration is received in cash or in the same form as previously paid by the Interested Shareholder for its common shares. As permitted by Maryland law, however, the Board of Trustees of the Company has opted out of these restrictions with respect to any business combination involving Mr. Zell and certain of his affiliates and persons acting in concert with them. Consequently, the five-year prohibition and the super-majority vote requirements will not apply to a business combination involving us and/or any of them. Such business combinations may not be in the best interest of our security holders.

We believe that we have qualified for taxation as a REIT for federal income tax purposes since our taxable year ended December 31, 1992 based, in part, upon opinions of tax counsel received whenever we have issued equity securities or engaged in significant merger transactions. We plan to continue to meet the requirements for taxation as a REIT. Many of these requirements,

however, are highly technical and complex. We cannot, therefore, guarantee that we have qualified or will qualify as a REIT in the future. The determination that we are a REIT requires an analysis of various factual matters that may not be totally within our control. For example, to qualify as a REIT, our gross income must generally come from rental and other real estate or passive related sources that are itemized in the REIT tax laws. We are also required to distribute to security holders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income excluding net capital gains. The fact that we hold our assets through the Operating Partnership further complicates the application of the REIT requirements. Even a technical or inadvertent mistake could jeopardize our REIT status; however, the REIT qualification rules permit REITs in certain circumstances to pay a monetary penalty for inadvertent mistakes rather than lose REIT status. There is also risk that Congress and the IRS might make changes to the tax laws and regulations, and the courts might issue new rulings that make it more difficult, or impossible, for us to remain qualified as a REIT. We do not believe, however, that any pending or proposed tax law changes would jeopardize our REIT status.

If we fail to qualify as a REIT, we would be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates. Also, unless the IRS granted us relief under certain statutory provisions, we would remain disqualified from taxation as a REIT for four years following the year in which we failed to qualify as a REIT. If we fail to qualify as a REIT, we would have to pay significant income taxes. We therefore would have less money available for investments or for distributions to security holders. This would likely have a significant adverse effect on the value of our securities. In addition, we would no longer be required to make any distributions to security holders. Even if we qualify as a REIT, we are and will continue to be subject to certain federal, state and local taxes on our income and property. In addition, various business activities which generate income that is not qualifying income for a REIT are conducted through taxable REIT subsidiaries and will be subject to federal and state income tax at regular corporate rates to the extent they generate taxable income.

If any of our prior merger partners had failed to qualify as a REIT throughout the duration of their existence, then they might have had undistributed “Subchapter C corporation earnings and profits” at the time of their merger with us. If that was the case and we did not distribute those earnings and profits prior to the end of the year in which the merger took place, we might not qualify as a REIT. We believe, based in part upon opinions of legal counsel received pursuant to the terms of our merger agreements as well as our own investigations, among other things, that each of our prior merger partners qualified as a REIT and that, in any event, none of them had any undistributed “Subchapter C corporation earnings and profits” at the time of their merger with us. If any of our prior merger partners failed to qualify as a REIT, an additional concern would be that they could have been required to recognize taxable gain at the time they merged with us. We would be liable for the tax on such gain. We also could have to pay corporate income tax on any gain existing at the time of the applicable merger on assets acquired in the merger if the assets are sold within ten years of the merger.

We may be required from time to time, under certain circumstances, to accrue as income for tax purposes interest and rent earned but not yet received. In such event, or upon our repayment of principal on debt, we could have taxable income without sufficient cash to enable us to meet the distribution requirements of a REIT. Accordingly, we could be required to borrow funds or liquidate investments on adverse terms in order to meet these distribution requirements.

In past years we have made, and under certain circumstances may consider making again in the future, a tax election to treat future distributions to shareholders as distributions in the current year. This election, which is provided for in the Internal Revenue Code, may allow us to avoid increasing our dividends or paying additional income taxes in the current year. However, this could result in a constraint on our ability to decrease our dividends in future years without creating risk of either violating the REIT distribution requirements or generating additional income tax liability.

The following discussion summarizes the federal income tax considerations material to a holder of common shares. It is not exhaustive of all possible tax considerations. For example, it does not give a detailed discussion of any state, local or foreign tax considerations. The following discussion also does not address all tax matters that may be relevant to prospective shareholders

in light of their particular circumstances. Moreover, it does not address all tax matters that may be relevant to shareholders who are subject to special treatment under the tax laws, such as insurance companies, tax-exempt entities, financial institutions or broker-dealers, foreign corporations, persons who are not citizens or residents of the United States and persons who own shares through a partnership or other entity treated as a flow-through entity for federal income tax purposes.

The specific tax attributes of a particular shareholder could have a material impact on the tax considerations associated with the purchase, ownership and disposition of common shares. Therefore, it is essential that each prospective shareholder consult with his or her own tax advisors with regard to the application of the federal income tax laws to the shareholder's personal tax situation, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign taxing jurisdiction.

The information in this section is based on the current Internal Revenue Code, current, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations, the legislative history of the Internal Revenue Code, current administrative interpretations and practices of the Internal Revenue Service, including its practices and policies as set forth in private letter rulings, which are not binding on the Internal Revenue Service, and existing court decisions. Future legislation, regulations, administrative interpretations and court decisions could change current law or adversely affect existing interpretations of current law. Any change could apply retroactively. Thus, it is possible that the Internal Revenue Service could challenge the statements in this discussion, which do not bind the Internal Revenue Service or the courts, and that a court could agree with the Internal Revenue Service.

We elected REIT status beginning with the year that ended December 31, 1992. In any year in which we qualify as a REIT, we generally will not be subject to federal income tax on the portion of our REIT taxable income or capital gain that we distribute to our shareholders. This treatment substantially eliminates the double taxation that applies to most corporations, which pay a tax on their income and then distribute dividends to shareholders who are in turn taxed on the amount they receive. We elected taxable REIT subsidiary status for certain of our corporate subsidiaries engaged in activities which cannot be performed directly by a REIT, such as condominium conversion and sale activities. As a result, we will be subject to federal income tax on the taxable income generated by these activities in our taxable REIT subsidiaries.

We believe that we have qualified as a REIT for all of our taxable years beginning with 1992. We also believe that our current structure and method of operation is such that we will continue to qualify as a REIT. However, given the complexity of the REIT qualification requirements, we cannot provide any assurance that the actual results of our operations have satisfied or will satisfy the requirements under the Internal Revenue Code for a particular year.

If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year and the relief provisions described herein do not apply, we will be subject to tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates. We also may be subject to the corporate “alternative minimum tax.” As a result, our failure to qualify as a REIT would significantly reduce the cash we have available to distribute to our shareholders. Unless entitled to statutory relief, we would not be able to re-elect to be taxed as a REIT until our fifth taxable year after the year of disqualification. It is not possible to state whether we would be entitled to statutory relief.

Our qualification and taxation as a REIT depend on our ability to satisfy various requirements under the Internal Revenue Code. We are required to satisfy these requirements on a continuing basis through actual annual operating and other results. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to operate in a manner so as to remain qualified as a REIT.

TRSs pay federal and state income tax at the full applicable corporate rates. The amount of taxes paid on impermissible tenant services income and the sale of real estate held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business may be material in amount. The TRSs will attempt to reduce, if possible, the amount of these taxes, but we cannot guarantee whether, or the extent to which, measures taken to reduce these taxes will be successful. To the extent that these companies are required to pay taxes, less cash may be available for distributions to shareholders.

If we fail to satisfy one or both of the gross income tests for any taxable year, we may nevertheless qualify as a REIT for the year if we are entitled to relief under certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. In this case, a penalty tax would still be applicable as discussed above. Generally, it is not possible to state whether in all circumstances we would be entitled to the benefit of these relief provisions and in the event these relief provisions do not apply, we will not qualify as a REIT.

To the extent we make distributions to our taxable domestic shareholders in excess of our earnings and profits, such distributions will be considered a return of capital. Such distributions will be treated as a tax-free distribution and will reduce the tax basis of a shareholder's common shares by the amount of the distribution so treated. To the extent such distributions cumulatively exceed a taxable domestic shareholder's tax basis, such distributions are taxable as gain from the sale of shares. Shareholders may not include in their individual income tax returns any of our net operating losses or capital losses.

Dividends declared by a REIT in October, November, or December are deemed to have been paid by the REIT and received by its shareholders on December 31 of that year, so long as the dividends are actually paid during January of the following year. However, this treatment only applies to the extent of the REIT's earnings and profits existing on December 31. To the extent the shareholder distribution paid in January exceeds available earnings and profits as of December 31, the excess will be treated as a distribution taxable to shareholders in the year paid. As such, for tax reporting purposes, January distributions paid to our shareholders may be split between two tax years.

Distributions made by us that we properly designate as capital gain dividends will be taxable to taxable domestic shareholders as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset held for more than one year. This treatment applies only to the extent that the designated distributions do not exceed our actual net capital gain for the taxable year. It applies regardless of the period for which a domestic shareholder has held his or her common shares. Despite this general rule, corporate shareholders may be required to treat up to 20% of certain capital gain dividends as ordinary income.

    

Generally, our designated capital gain dividends will be broken out into net capital gains distributions (which are taxable to taxable domestic shareholders that are individuals, estates or trusts at a maximum rate of 20% for individual taxpayers in the highest tax bracket) and unrecaptured Section 1250 gain distributions (which are taxable to taxable domestic shareholders that are individuals, estates or trusts at a maximum rate of 25%).

Certain U.S. shareholders that are taxed as individuals, estates or trusts may also be required to pay an additional 3.8% tax on, among other things, dividends on and capital gains from the sale or other disposition of shares.

If, for any taxable year, we elect to designate as capital gain dividends any portion of the dividends paid or made available for the year to holders of all classes of shares of beneficial interest, then the portion of the capital gains dividends that will be allocable to the holders of common shares will be the total capital gain dividends multiplied by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction will be the total dividends paid or made available to the holders of the common shares for the year. The denominator of the fraction will be the total dividends paid or made available to holders of all classes of shares of beneficial interest.

We may elect to retain (rather than distribute as is generally required) net capital gain for a taxable year and pay the income tax on that gain. If we make this election, shareholders must include in income, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate

share of the undistributed net capital gain. Shareholders will be treated as having paid their proportionate share of the tax paid by us on these gains. Accordingly, they will receive a tax credit or refund for the amount. Shareholders will increase the basis in their common shares by the difference between the amount of capital gain included in their income and the amount of the tax they are treated as having paid. Our earnings and profits will be adjusted appropriately.

In general, a shareholder will recognize gain or loss for federal income tax purposes on the sale or other disposition of common shares in an amount equal to the difference between:

    

The gain or loss will be capital gain or loss if the common shares were held as a capital asset. Generally, the capital gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if the common shares were held for more than one year.

In general, a loss recognized by a shareholder upon the sale of common shares that were held for six months or less, determined after applying certain holding period rules, will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that the shareholder received distributions that were treated as long-term capital gains. For shareholders who are individuals, trusts and estates, the long-term capital loss will be apportioned among the applicable long-term capital gain rates to the extent that distributions received by the shareholder were previously so treated.

Most tax-exempt organizations are not subject to federal income tax except to the extent of their unrelated business taxable income, which is often referred to as UBTI. Unless a tax-exempt shareholder holds its common shares as debt financed property or uses the common shares in an unrelated trade or business, distributions to the shareholder should not constitute UBTI. Similarly, if a tax-exempt shareholder sells common shares, the income from the sale should not constitute UBTI unless the shareholder held the shares as debt financed property or used the shares in a trade or business.

However, for tax-exempt shareholders that are social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts, and qualified group legal services plans, income from owning or selling common shares will constitute UBTI unless the organization is able to properly deduct amounts set aside or placed in reserve so as to offset the income generated by its investment in common shares. These shareholders should consult their own tax advisors concerning these set aside and reserve requirements which are set forth in the Internal Revenue Code.

In addition, certain pension trusts that own more than 10% of a “pension-held REIT” must report a portion of the distributions that they receive from the REIT as UBTI. We have not been and do not expect to be treated as a pension-held REIT for purposes of this rule.

The following is a discussion of certain anticipated United States federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of common shares applicable to a foreign shareholder. For purposes of this discussion, a “foreign shareholder” is any person other than:

from withholding under this exemption. A foreign shareholder that is a corporation also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower treaty rate.

We expect to withhold United States income tax at the rate of 30% on any such distributions made to a foreign shareholder unless:

If such distribution is in excess of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, it will not be taxable to a foreign shareholder to the extent that the distribution does not exceed the adjusted basis of the shareholder's common shares. Instead, the distribution will reduce the adjusted basis of the common shares. To the extent that the distribution exceeds the adjusted basis of the common shares, it will give rise to gain from the sale or exchange of the shareholder's common shares. The tax treatment of this gain is described below.

We intend to withhold at a rate of 30%, or a lower applicable treaty rate, on the entire amount of any distribution not designated as a capital gain distribution. In such event, a foreign shareholder may seek a refund of the withheld amount from the IRS if it is subsequently determined that the distribution was, in fact, in excess of our earnings and profits, and the amount withheld exceeded the foreign shareholder's United States tax liability with respect to the distribution.

Any capital gain dividend with respect to any class of our stock which is “regularly traded” on an established securities market, will be treated as an ordinary dividend described above, if the foreign shareholder did not own more than 5% of such class of stock at any time during the one year period ending on the date of the distribution. Foreign shareholders generally will not be required to report such distributions received from us on U.S. federal income tax returns and all distributions treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including any capital gain dividends, will be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax (unless reduced or eliminated under an applicable income tax treaty), as described above. In addition, the branch profits tax will no longer apply to such distributions.

Distributions to a foreign shareholder that we designate at the time of the distributions as capital gain dividends, other than those arising from the disposition of a United States real property interest, generally will not be subject to United States federal income taxation unless:

Under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, which is known as FIRPTA, distributions to a foreign shareholder that are attributable to gain from sales or exchanges of United States real property interests will cause the foreign shareholder to be treated as recognizing the gain as income effectively connected with a United States trade or business. This rule applies whether or not a distribution is designated as a capital gain dividend. Accordingly, foreign shareholders generally would be taxed on these distributions at the same rates applicable to U.S. shareholders, subject to a special alternative minimum tax in the case of nonresident alien individuals. In addition, a foreign corporate shareholder might be subject to the branch profits tax discussed above, as well as U.S. federal income tax return filing requirements. We are required to withhold 35% of these distributions. The withheld amount can be credited against the foreign shareholder's United States federal income tax liability.

Although the law is not entirely clear on the matter, it appears that amounts we designate as undistributed capital gains in respect of the common shares held by U.S. shareholders would be treated with respect to foreign shareholders in the same manner as actual distributions of capital gain dividends. Under that approach, foreign shareholders would be able to offset as a credit against their United States federal income tax liability their proportionate share of the tax paid by us on these undistributed capital gains. In addition, if timely requested, foreign shareholders might be able to receive from the IRS a refund to the extent their proportionate share of the tax paid by us were to exceed their actual United States federal income tax liability.

Even if we do not qualify as or cease to be a domestically controlled REIT, gain arising from the sale or exchange by a foreign shareholder of common shares still would not be subject to United States taxation under FIRPTA as a sale of a United States real property interest if:

    

If gain on the sale or exchange of common shares were subject to taxation under FIRPTA, the foreign shareholder would be subject to regular United States income tax with respect to the gain in the same manner as a taxable U.S. shareholder, subject to any applicable alternative minimum tax, a special alternative minimum tax in the case of nonresident alien individuals and the possible application of the branch profits tax in the case of foreign corporations. The purchaser of the common shares would be required to withhold and remit to the IRS 10% of the purchase price.

We will report to our domestic shareholders and the Internal Revenue Service the amount of distributions paid during each calendar year and the amount of tax withheld, if any. Under certain circumstances, domestic shareholders may be subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding will apply only if such domestic shareholder fails to furnish certain information to us or the Internal Revenue Service. Backup withholding will not apply with respect to payments made to certain exempt recipients, such as corporations and tax-exempt organizations. Domestic shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding their qualification for exemption from backup withholding and the procedure for obtaining such an exemption. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the amount of any backup withholding with respect to a payment to a domestic shareholder will be allowed as a credit against such person's United States federal income tax liability and may entitle such person to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) is contained in Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Internal Revenue Code (and the Treasury Regulations thereunder) and was originally enacted in 2010 as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act. FATCA will impose a U.S. withholding tax at a 30% rate on dividends paid after June 30, 2014 and on proceeds from the sale of our shares paid after December 31, 2016 to “foreign financial institutions” (as defined under FATCA) and certain other foreign entities if certain due diligence and disclosure requirements related to U.S. accounts with, or ownership of, such entities are not satisfied or an exemption does not apply. If FATCA withholding is imposed, non-U.S. beneficial owners that are otherwise eligible for an exemption from, or a reduction of, U.S. withholding tax with respect to such distributions and sale proceeds would be required to seek a refund from the Internal Revenue Service to obtain the benefit of such exemption or reduction. Any payment made by us that is subject to withholding under FATCA or otherwise will be net of the amount required to be withheld.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2. Properties

The Company’s properties are summarized by ownership type in the following table:

The following table sets forth certain information by market relating to the Company's properties at December 31, 2014:

PORTFOLIO SUMMARY

The distribution of the properties throughout the United States reflects the Company’s belief that geographic diversification helps insulate the portfolio from regional influences. At the same time, the Company has sought to create clusters of properties within each of its core markets in order to achieve economies of scale in management and operation. The Company may nevertheless acquire additional multifamily properties located anywhere in the United States and internationally.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

The Company does not believe there is any other litigation pending or threatened against it that, individually or in the aggregate, may reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

PART II

Common Share Market Prices and Dividends (Equity Residential)

The following table sets forth, for the years indicated, the high, low and closing sales prices for and the distributions declared on the Company’s Common Shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol EQR.