Mid-America Apartment Communities 10-K 2021-12-31

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

OR

Commission File Number 001-12762 (Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.)

Commission File Number 333-190028-01 (Mid-America Apartments, L.P.)

MID-AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC.

MID-AMERICA APARTMENTS, L.P.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

6815 Poplar Avenue**,** Suite 500**,** Germantown**,** Tennessee**,** 38138

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (901) 682-6600

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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.

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 every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files).

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

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

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

The aggregate market value of the 81,749,318 shares of common stock of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. held by non-affiliates was approximately $13.8 billion based on the closing price of $168.42 as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2021. This calculation excludes shares of common stock held by the registrant’s officers and directors and each person known by the registrant to beneficially own more than 5% of the registrant’s outstanding shares, as such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status should not be deemed conclusive for any other purpose. As of February 14, 2022, there were 115,341,027 shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. common stock outstanding.

There is no public trading market for the partnership units of Mid-America Apartments, L.P. As a result, an aggregate market value of the partnership units of Mid-America Apartments, L.P. cannot be determined.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the proxy statement for the annual shareholders meeting of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. to be held on May 17, 2022 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report. We expect to file our proxy statement within 120 days after December 31, 2021.

MID-AMERICA APARTMENT COMMUNITIES, INC.

MID-AMERICA APARTMENTS, L.P.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Explanatory Note

This report combines the Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., a Tennessee corporation, and Mid-America Apartments, L.P., a Tennessee limited partnership, of which Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. is the sole general partner. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. and its 97.3% owned subsidiary, Mid-America Apartments, L.P., are both required to file annual reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “MAA” refer only to Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., and not any of its consolidated subsidiaries. Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this report to “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company” refer collectively to Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, including Mid-America Apartments, L.P. Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this report to the “Operating Partnership” or “MAALP” refer to Mid-America Apartments, L.P. together with its consolidated subsidiaries. “Common stock” refers to the common stock of MAA, “preferred stock” refers to the preferred stock of MAA, and “shareholders” refers to the holders of shares of MAA’s common stock or preferred stock, as applicable. The common units of limited partnership interest in the Operating Partnership are referred to as “OP Units” and the holders of the OP Units are referred to as “common unitholders.”

As of December 31, 2021, MAA owned 115,336,876 OP Units (97.3% of the total number of OP Units). MAA conducts substantially all of its business and holds substantially all of its assets, directly or indirectly, through the Operating Partnership, and by virtue of its ownership of the OP Units and being the Operating Partnership’s sole general partner, MAA has the ability to control all of the day-to-day operations of the Operating Partnership.

We believe combining the Annual Reports on Form 10-K of MAA and the Operating Partnership, including the notes to the consolidated financial statements, into this report results in the following benefits:

enhances investors’ understanding of MAA and the Operating Partnership by enabling investors to view the business as a whole in the same manner that management views and operates the business;

eliminates duplicative disclosure and provides a more streamlined and readable presentation since a substantial portion of the disclosure in this report applies to both MAA and the Operating Partnership; and

creates time and cost efficiencies through the preparation of one combined report instead of two separate reports.

MAA, an S&P 500 company, is a multifamily-focused, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT. Management operates MAA and the Operating Partnership as one business. We believe it is important to understand the few differences between MAA and the Operating Partnership in the context of how MAA and the Operating Partnership operate as a consolidated company. MAA and the Operating Partnership are structured as an umbrella partnership REIT, or UPREIT. MAA’s interest in the Operating Partnership entitles MAA to share in cash distributions from, and in the profits and losses of, the Operating Partnership in proportion to MAA’s percentage interest therein and entitles MAA to vote on substantially all matters requiring a vote of the partners. MAA’s only material asset is its ownership of limited partnership interests in the Operating Partnership (other than cash held by MAA from time to time); therefore, MAA’s primary function is acting as the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership, issuing public equity from time to time and guaranteeing certain debt of the Operating Partnership from time to time. The Operating Partnership holds, directly or indirectly, all of the real estate assets. Except for net proceeds from public equity issuances by MAA, which are contributed to the Operating Partnership in exchange for limited partnership interests, the Operating Partnership generates the capital required by the Company’s business through the Operating Partnership’s operations, direct or indirect incurrence of indebtedness and issuance of OP Units.

The presentation of MAA’s shareholders’ equity and the Operating Partnership’s capital are the principal areas of difference between the consolidated financial statements of MAA and those of the Operating Partnership. MAA’s shareholders’ equity may include shares of preferred stock, shares of common stock, additional paid-in capital, cumulative earnings, cumulative distributions, noncontrolling interests, treasury shares, accumulated other comprehensive income or loss and redeemable common stock. The Operating Partnership’s capital may include common capital and preferred capital of the general partner (MAA), limited partners’ common capital and preferred capital, noncontrolling interests, accumulated other comprehensive income or loss and redeemable common units. Holders of OP Units (other than MAA) may require the Operating Partnership to redeem their OP Units from time to time, in which case the Operating Partnership may, at its option, pay the redemption price either in cash (in an amount per OP Unit equal, in general, to the average closing price of MAA’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, over a specified period prior to the redemption date) or by delivering one share of MAA’s common stock (subject to adjustment under specified circumstances) for each OP Unit so redeemed.

In order to highlight the material differences between MAA and the Operating Partnership, this Annual Report on Form 10-K includes sections that separately present and discuss areas that are materially different between MAA and the Operating Partnership, including:

the consolidated financial statements in Item 8 of this report;

certain accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements, including Note 2 - Earnings per Common Share of MAA and Note 3 - Earnings per OP Unit of MAALP; and Note 8 - Shareholders’ Equity of MAA and Note 9 - Partners’ Capital of MAALP;

the controls and procedures in Item 9A of this report; and

the certifications included as Exhibits 31 and 32 to this report.

In the sections that combine disclosures for MAA and the Operating Partnership, this report refers to actions or holdings as being actions or holdings of the Company. Although the Operating Partnership (directly or indirectly through one of its subsidiaries) is generally the entity that enters into contracts, holds assets and issues debt, management believes this presentation is appropriate for the reasons set forth above and because we operate the business through the Operating Partnership. MAA, the Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries operate as one consolidated business, but MAA, the Operating Partnership and each of its subsidiaries are separate, distinct legal entities.

Note Regarding For****ward-Looking Statements

We consider this and other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, with respect to our expectations for future periods. Forward-looking statements do not discuss historical fact, but instead include statements related to expectations, projections, intentions or other items related to the future. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the potential impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, statements regarding expected operating performance and results, property stabilizations, property acquisition and disposition activity, joint venture activity, development and renovation activity and other capital expenditures, and capital raising and financing activity, as well as lease pricing, revenue and expense growth, occupancy, interest rate and other economic expectations. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “projects,” “assumes,” “will,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “budget,” “target,” “outlook,” “guidance” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, as described below, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results of operations, financial conditions or plans expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore such forward-looking statements included in this report may not prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the results or conditions described in such statements or our objectives and plans will be achieved.

The following factors, among others, could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements:

the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken or that may be taken by federal, state and local governmental authorities to combat the spread of the disease;

inability to generate sufficient cash flows due to unfavorable economic and market conditions, changes in supply and/or demand, competition, uninsured losses, changes in tax and housing laws or other factors;

exposure to risks inherent in investments in a single industry and sector;

adverse changes in real estate markets, including, but not limited to, the extent of future demand for multifamily units in our significant markets, barriers of entry into new markets which we may seek to enter in the future, limitations on our ability to increase or collect rental rates, competition, our ability to identify and consummate attractive acquisitions or development projects on favorable terms, our ability to consummate any planned dispositions in a timely manner on acceptable terms, and our ability to reinvest sale proceeds in a manner that generates favorable returns;

failure of development communities to be completed within budget and on a timely basis, if at all, to lease-up as anticipated or to achieve anticipated results;

unexpected capital needs;

material changes in operating costs, including real estate taxes, utilities and insurance costs, due to inflation and other factors;

inability to obtain appropriate insurance coverage at reasonable rates, or at all, or losses from catastrophes in excess of our insurance coverage;

ability to obtain financing at favorable rates, if at all, or refinance existing debt as it matures;

level and volatility of interest or capitalization rates or capital market conditions;

the effect of any rating agency actions on the cost and availability of new debt financing;

the effect of the phase-out of the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, as a variable rate debt benchmark and the transition to a different benchmark interest rate;

significant change in the mortgage financing market or other factors that would cause single-family housing or other alternative housing options, either as an owned or rental product, to become a more significant competitive product;

ability to continue to satisfy complex rules in order to maintain our status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, the ability of the Operating Partnership to satisfy the rules to maintain its status as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, the ability of our taxable REIT subsidiaries to maintain their status as such for federal income tax purposes and our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to operate effectively within the limitations imposed by these rules;

inability to attract and retain qualified personnel;

cyber liability or potential liability for breaches of our or our service providers’ information technology systems or business operations disruptions;

potential liability for environmental contamination;

changes in the legal requirements we are subject to, or the imposition of new legal requirements, that adversely affect our operations;

extreme weather, natural disasters, disease outbreaks and other public health events;

impact of climate change on our properties or operations;

legal proceedings or class action lawsuits;

impact of reputational harm caused by negative press or social media postings of MAA’s actions or policies, whether or not warranted;

compliance costs associated with numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations; and

other risks identified in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under the caption “Risk Factors,” and in other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, or in other documents that we publicly disseminate.

New factors may also emerge from time to time that could have a material adverse effect on our business. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date on which this Annual Report on Form 10-K is filed.

PART I

Overview

MAA, an S&P 500 company, is a multifamily-focused, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT. We own, operate, acquire and selectively develop apartment communities primarily located in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2021, we maintained full or partial ownership of apartment communities, including communities currently in development, across 16 states and the District of Columbia, summarized as follows:

(1)

As of December 31, 2021, 33 of the Company’s apartment communities included retail components.

(2)

Number of communities includes six communities under development as of December 31, 2021.

(3)

Number of units excludes development units not yet delivered as of December 31, 2021.

Our business is conducted principally through the Operating Partnership. MAA is the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership, holding 115,336,876 OP Units, comprising a 97.3% partnership interest in the Operating Partnership as of December 31, 2021. MAA and MAALP were formed in Tennessee in 1993.

Business Objectives

Our primary business objectives are to generate a sustainable, stable and increasing cash flow that will fund our dividends and distributions through all parts of the real estate investment cycle. To achieve these objectives, we intend to continue to pursue the following goals and strategies:

create value for our shareholders, residents, associates and the communities in which our properties are located;

effectively operate our existing properties with an intense property and asset management focus;

utilize technology to provide services desired by our residents and create efficiencies and performance advantages in our operations;

take an opportunistic approach to buying, selling, developing and renovating apartment communities;

diversify our portfolio across markets, submarkets and price points in the geographical areas in which we operate to minimize operating performance volatility;

offer attractive work environments, compensation and incentive packages and career development opportunities to attract and retain required talent; and

actively manage our balance sheet and capital structure.

Operations

Our goal is to generate return on investment collectively and in each apartment community by increasing revenues, controlling operating expenses, maintaining high occupancy levels and reinvesting in the income producing capacity of each apartment community as appropriate. The steps taken to meet these objectives include:

providing management information and improved customer services through technology innovations;

implementing programs to control expenses through investment in cost-saving initiatives;

analyzing individual asset productivity performances to identify best practices and improvement areas;

maintaining the physical condition of each property through ongoing capital investments;

improving the “curb appeal,” amenities and common areas of the apartment communities through environmentally-thoughtful landscaping and exterior improvements, and repositioning apartment communities from time to time to enhance or maintain market positions;

effectively utilizing search engine optimization, internet leasing solutions and other internet tools to generate leasing traffic;

managing lease expirations to align with peak leasing traffic patterns and to maximize productivity of property staffing; and

allocating additional capital, including capital for selective interior and exterior improvements.

We believe that leveraging the strength of enterprise solutions in conjunction with our decentralized operating structure capitalizes on specific market knowledge and provides greater accountability than an entirely centralized structure. To support our operational structure, senior management, along with various asset management functions, are proactively involved in supporting and optimizing property operations and reviewing property management performance through extensive reporting processes and on-site visits. To maximize the amount of information shared between senior management and the properties on a real-time basis, we utilize a web-based property management system. The system contains property and accounting modules that allow for operating efficiencies and continued expense control, provide for various expanded revenue management practices and improve the support provided to on-site property operations. We use a “yield management” pricing program that helps our property managers optimize rental revenues, and we also utilize purchase order and accounts payable software to provide improved controls and management information.

Investment in technology continues to drive operating efficiencies in our business and helps us to better meet the changing needs of our residents. Our residents have the ability to conduct business with us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and complete online leasing applications, leases and renewals through our web-based resident portal. Interacting with our residents through such technology has allowed us to improve resident satisfaction ratings and increase the efficiency of our operating teams. During 2021, our resident portal also provided a safer way to transact business during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have continued to invest in technology to enable potential residents to examine their future homes both online (virtual touring) or by self-guided tour (self-touring) in addition to the more traditional guided tour.

Acquisitions and Development

Our external growth strategy is to acquire existing apartment communities, utilize our internal development team to develop our own apartment communities and partner with local developers to develop apartment communities that we will own completely after stabilization, which we refer to as a pre-purchase transaction. Acquisitions and development, along with dispositions, help us achieve and maintain our desired product mix, geographic diversification and asset allocation. Portfolio growth allows for maximizing the efficiency of the existing management and overhead structure. We have extensive experience in the acquisition and development

of apartment communities. We will continue to evaluate opportunities that arise, and we will utilize this strategy to increase our number of apartment communities in strong and growing markets.

We acquired the following properties during the year ended December 31, 2021:

(1)

Represents number of units upon completion of the development.

(2)

This pre-purchase multifamily community development is being developed through a joint venture with a local developer. We own 80% of the joint venture that owns this property.

Development activities may be conducted through entities we wholly-own or through joint ventures with our pre-purchase transaction partners. Typically, fixed price construction contracts are signed with unrelated parties to minimize construction risk. We may also engage in limited expansion development opportunities on existing communities in which we typically serve as the developer. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we incurred $231.6 million in development costs and completed four development projects.

The following multifamily projects were under development as of December 31, 2021 (dollars in thousands):

(1)

This pre-purchase multifamily community development is being developed through a joint venture with a local developer. We own 80% of the joint venture that owns this property.

Dispositions

We sell apartment communities and other assets that no longer meet our long-term strategy or when market conditions are favorable, and we redeploy the proceeds from those sales to acquire, develop and redevelop additional apartment communities and rebalance our portfolio across or within geographic regions. Dispositions also allow us to realize a portion of the value created through our investments and provide additional liquidity. We are then able to redeploy the net proceeds from our dispositions in lieu of raising additional equity or debt capital. In deciding to sell an apartment community, we consider current market conditions and generally solicit competing bids from unrelated parties for these individual properties, considering the sales price and other key terms of each proposal. We also consider portfolio dispositions when such a structure is useful to maximize proceeds and efficiency of execution. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we disposed of seven multifamily communities totaling 1,905 units, and five land parcels totaling approximately 142 acres.

Property Redevelopment and Repositioning Activity

We focus on both interior unit upgrades and property amenity and common area upgrades above and beyond routine capital upkeep on our apartment communities that we believe have the ability to support additional rent growth. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we renovated the kitchen and bathroom of 6,360 apartment units at an average cost of $5,893 per apartment unit, achieving average rental rate increases of 12.2% above the normal market rate for similar but non-renovated apartment units.

We have installed Smart Home technology (unit entry locks, mobile control of lights and thermostat and leak monitoring) at select apartment communities in order to provide additional resident value and increase rent growth. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we installed smart devices in 23,579 apartment units at an average cost of $1,395 per apartment unit and a projected average monthly rent increase of approximately $25 per unit upon lease renewal or unit turnover. As of December 31, 2021, we have completed installation of the Smart Home technology at nearly one-half of our existing properties and are employing Smart Home technology in all of our new developments.

Separately, we continued our property repositioning program to upgrade and reposition the amenity and common areas at select apartment communities. The program includes targeted plans to move all apartment units at the properties to higher rents. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we spent $9.2 million on this program.

Portfolio Strategy

Our goal is to maintain a diversified, balanced portfolio that we believe provides the optimal path to maximizing operating performance over the full economic cycle. Maintaining a diverse portfolio includes:

Operating apartment communities in a variety of markets across the Southeast, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States

Operating apartment communities in a variety of submarkets within our markets (urban, suburban, inner loop, etc.)

Operating apartment communities of different product types such as high-rise, mid-rise and garden style

Offering a variety of different rent price points within a market or submarket

We believe a diverse portfolio performs well during economic up cycles and weathers economic down cycles better than a more homogenous portfolio.

Human Capital

As of December 31, 2021, we employed 2,429 associates. Our associates’ time, energy, creativity and passion are essential to our continued success as a company. With respect to our workforce, we focus on driving diversity and inclusion, providing market-competitive pay and benefits to support our associates’ well-being, encouraging our associates’ growth and development, fostering associate engagement and protecting our associates’ health and safety.

We respect the privilege of providing value to those whose lives we touch. We call this outlook our “Brighter View.” To achieve these objectives, we use our Core Values to guide the way we interact with each other and conduct business by:

appreciating the uniqueness of each individual;

communicating openly and with integrity;

embracing opportunities; and

doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We strive to recruit, develop and retain a talented and diverse workforce that mirrors the diversity of our residents and the communities where we do business. We are committed to an inclusive working environment that not only values diversity in ideas and opinions, but also fosters a sense of belonging and connection where associates feel recognized and appreciated regardless of individual differences. Our goal through these efforts is to support and promote inclusive diversity, equal opportunity and fair treatment for all those working at the company and as a result create more value for all the constituents we serve. Our Inclusive Diversity Council is comprised of individuals across all areas of our company whose aim is to cultivate conversations, expand education and examine our practices surrounding diversity and inclusion. This group works collaboratively with our Chief Executive Officer and other members of our executive team to ensure our policies and actions are guided by our culture of inclusivity and are free from discriminatory practices and bias.

We recruit from a diverse range of sources including historically Black colleges and universities as well as technical/trade schools. As of December 31, 2021, ethnic/cultural minorities represented approximately 49% of our workforce, 37% of our collective corporate, regional and property leadership positions and 52% of our associates promoted during the year ended December 31, 2021. Also, as of December 31, 2021, females represented approximately 46% of our workforce, 55% of our collective corporate, regional and property leadership positions and 57% of our associates promoted during the year ended December 31, 2021, representing a 1% increase from the year ended December 31, 2020. We intend to continue using a combination of targeted recruiting, talent development and internal promotion strategies to expand the diversity of our employee base across all roles and functions.

Well-being and Development

We take a comprehensive approach to supporting our associates’ physical and emotional health as well as their financial and professional well-being. Our associates are eligible for medical, dental and vision insurance, life and disability insurance, various wellness programs, an employee assistance program, for which we pay part or all the cost, as well as other benefits. We strive to maintain an equitable compensation program for performance, designed to reward competitive levels of compensation based on employee contributions, performance and qualifications. We offer a 401(k) savings plan with an employer match as well as educational support for savings strategies. We also offer discounted rent to associates, parental leave and financial assistance with adoption expenses as well as grant up to three scholarships for associates’ dependents each year. Our training and development programs are designed to provide continuous learning for associates in the flow of their workday. Additionally, we encourage and provide financial assistance to our eligible associates to seek education and certification outside of the company through both apartment associations and accredited educational institutions. We encourage our associates to “embrace opportunities” including developing skills and knowledge needed for increased responsibilities as they promote within the Company.

Communication and Engagement

It is our goal to communicate authentically with our associates in a way that is clear, credible and compassionate. We understand effective communication must flow both ways, and we strive to continuously improve our efforts to appropriately engage our associates so that as a team we can successfully complete our mission. Our internal communications function aims to provide associates the information they need in a timely, focused, relevant and consistent manner using the most appropriate channels available. It is also important that we maintain an active dialogue with our associates, and they have multiple channels to be seen and heard. We periodically conduct a comprehensive survey to measure associate engagement and pulse checks to capture topical feedback to guide current programs, projects and progress. We also conduct an annual review process to provide an opportunity for each associate to build mutual understanding with leadership, gain self-discovery and learn about possible avenues for growth. We encourage a work environment where ideas, problems and solutions can be discussed with immediate managers and other management personnel. Associates may also use our company intranet as a means of submitting feedback.

Health and Safety

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been committed to protecting our associates, residents and guests while balancing the needs of the business. In 2021, we continued to follow our COVID-19 Workplace Health and Safety Guidelines and made amendments as needed to respond to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and directives from state and local governmental authorities. We also continued to offer several measures to support our associates’ overall well-being, including supplemental leave and sick time policies, additional COVID-19 paid time off and coverage for COVID-19 testing and vaccination under our health plan. Following U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration approvals of COVID-19 vaccines, and later, the booster shots, we encouraged, but did not require, our associates to take advantage of available vaccines and offered financial incentives for associates who got vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. The combination of all of these measures have allowed us to maintain our onsite workforce during 2021, which we believe has alleviated disruption to our operations and the challenge of reintegrating a long-term remote workforce back to traditional pre-pandemic working conditions.

Capital Structure

We use a combination of debt and equity sources to fund our business objectives. We focus on maintaining access, flexibility and low costs, which we believe allows us to proactively support normal business operations and source potential investment opportunities in the marketplace. We structure our debt maturities to avoid disproportionate exposure in any given year. Our primary debt financing strategy is to access the unsecured debt markets to provide our debt capital needs, but we also maintain a limited amount of secured debt and maintain our access to both the secured and unsecured debt markets for maximum flexibility. We also believe that we have significant access to the equity capital markets.

As of December 31, 2021, 14.2% of our total market capitalization consisted of debt borrowings, including 13.1% under unsecured borrowings and 1.1% under secured borrowings. We currently intend to target our total debt, net of cash held, to a range of approximately 30% to 36% of our adjusted total assets (as defined in the covenants for the bonds issued by MAALP). Our charter and bylaws do not limit our debt levels and our Board of Directors can modify this policy at any time. We may issue new equity to maintain our debt within the target range. Covenants for our unsecured senior notes limit our total debt to 60% or less of our adjusted total assets. As of December 31, 2021, our total debt was approximately 29.8% of our adjusted total assets. We continuously review opportunities for lowering our cost of capital. We plan to continue using unsecured debt to take advantage of the lower cost of capital and flexibility provided by these markets. We will evaluate opportunities to repurchase shares when we believe that our share price is significantly below our net present value. We also look for opportunities where we can acquire or develop apartment communities, selectively funded or partially funded by sales of equity securities, when appropriate opportunities arise. We focus on improving the net present value of our investments by generating cash flow from our portfolio of assets above the estimated total cost of debt and equity capital. We routinely make new investments when we believe it will be accretive to shareholder value over the life of the investments.

Competition and Market Demand

Our apartment communities are located in areas that include other apartment communities. Occupancy and rental rates are affected by the number of competitive apartment communities in a particular area. The owners of competing apartment communities may have greater resources than us, and the managers of these apartment communities may have more experience than our management. Moreover, single-family rental housing, manufactured housing, condominiums and the new and existing home markets provide housing alternatives to potential residents of apartment communities. Competition for new residents is generally intense across all of our markets. Some competing apartment communities offer features that our apartment communities do not have or may be deemed to be in a more desirable location within the market. Competing apartment communities can use concessions or lower rents to obtain temporary competitive advantages. Also, some competing apartment communities are newer than our apartment communities, may have different amenities or otherwise be more attractive to a prospective resident. The competitive position of each apartment community is different depending upon many factors including submarket supply and demand. In addition, other real estate

investors compete with us to acquire existing properties and to develop new properties. These competitors include insurance companies, pension and investment funds, public and private real estate companies, investment companies and other public and private apartment REITs, some of which may have greater resources, greater ability to utilize leverage or lower capital costs than we do.

We believe, however, that we are generally well-positioned to compete effectively for residents and acquisition and development opportunities. We believe our competitive advantages include:

a fully integrated organization with property management, development, redevelopment, acquisition, marketing, sales and financing expertise;

scalable operating and support systems, which include automated systems to meet the changing technological needs of our residents and associates;

access to a wide variety of debt and equity capital sources;

geographic diversification with a presence in 36 defined markets across the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States; and

significant presence in many of our major markets that allows us to be a local operating expert and offer varying location options within a market to meet a variety of prospective resident preferences.

Moving forward, we plan to continue our focus on optimizing lease expiration management, current and prospective resident engagement, expense control and resident retention efforts and also to align employee incentive plans with our performance. We also plan to continue to make capital improvements to both our apartment communities and individual units on a regular basis to maintain a competitive position. We believe this plan of operation, coupled with the portfolio’s strengths in targeting residents across a geographically diverse platform, should position us for continued operational growth.

For information regarding trends in market demand, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Trends” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Environmental Matters

As a part of our standard apartment community acquisition and development processes, we generally obtain environmental studies of the sites from outside environmental engineering firms. The purpose of these studies is to identify potential sources of contamination at the site and to assess the status of environmental regulatory compliance. These studies generally include historical reviews of the site, reviews of certain public records, preliminary investigations of the site and surrounding properties, inspection for the presence of asbestos, poly-chlorinated biphenyls and underground storage tanks and the preparation and issuance of written reports. Depending on the results of these studies, more invasive procedures, such as soil sampling or ground water analysis, may be performed to investigate potential sources of contamination. These studies must be satisfactorily completed before we take ownership of an acquisition or development property; however, no assurance can be given that the studies or additional documents reviewed identify all significant environmental risks. See “Risk Factors – Environmental problems are possible and can be costly” and “Risk Factors – Compliance or failure to comply with laws and regulations could have an adverse effect on our operations and the values of our properties” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The environmental studies we received on properties that we have acquired have not revealed any material environmental liabilities. Should any potential environmental risks or conditions be discovered during our due diligence process, the potential costs of remediation will be assessed carefully and factored into the cost of acquisition, assuming the identified risks and factors are deemed to be manageable and within reason. We are not aware of any existing conditions that we believe would be considered a material environmental liability. Nevertheless, it is possible that the studies do not reveal all environmental risks or that there are material environmental liabilities of which we are not aware. Moreover, no assurance can be given concerning future laws, ordinances or regulations, or the potential introduction of hazardous or toxic substances by neighboring properties or residents.

Government Regulations

We must own, operate, manage, acquire, develop and redevelop our properties in compliance with the laws and regulations of the United States, as well as state and local laws and regulations in the markets where our properties are located, which may differ among jurisdictions. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, federal governmental authorities, as well as state and local governmental authorities in jurisdictions where our properties are located, implemented laws and regulations which impacted our ability to operate our business in the ordinary course, including our ability to charge certain fees, increase rents and evict residents who violate their lease. These governmental requirements, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, had an impact on our operations in the year ended December 31, 2021, and any reinstatement of similar requirements in response to the pandemic could effect our results of operations for the year ending December 31, 2022. Otherwise, we do not expect that compliance with the various laws and regulations we are subject to will have a material effect on our capital expenditures, results of operations and competitive position for the year ending December 31, 2022 as compared to prior periods.

For additional information, see “Risk Factors – The COVID-19 pandemic has materially impacted and may continue to materially impact our business, and our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected by factors relating to the pandemic,” “Risk Factors – Environmental problems are possible and can be costly” and “Risk Factors – Compliance or failure to comply with laws and regulations could have an adverse effect on our operations and the values of our properties” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Qualification as a Real Estate Investment Trust

MAA has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code. To continue to qualify as a REIT, MAA must continue to meet certain tests which, among other things, generally require that our assets consist primarily of real estate assets, our income be derived primarily from real estate assets and that we distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (other than our net capital gains) to our shareholders annually. If MAA maintains its qualification as a REIT, MAA generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes at the corporate level on its net income to the extent it distributes such net income to its shareholders annually. Even if MAA continues to qualify as a REIT, it will continue to be subject to certain federal, state and local taxes on its income and its property. For the year ended December 31, 2021, MAA paid total distributions of $4.10 per share of common stock to its shareholders, which was above the 90% REIT distribution requirement and was in excess of REIT taxable income.

Website Access to Our Reports

MAA and the Operating Partnership file combined periodic reports with the SEC. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, along with our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports, are available on our website at https://www.maac.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Reference to our website does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the site and should not be considered part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All of the aforementioned materials may also be obtained free of charge by contacting our Investor Relations Department, 6815 Poplar Avenue, Suite 500, Germantown, Tennessee 38138.

In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have identified the following risks and uncertainties that may have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition or results of operations. Investors should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. Our business faces significant risks and the risks described below may not be the only risks we face. Additional risks that are not presently known to us, that we currently believe are immaterial or that could apply generically to any company may also significantly impact our business operations. If any of these risks occur, our business prospects, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, the market price of our stock and the trading price of our debt securities could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment in our stock or debt securities.

Risks Related to Our Real Estate Investments and Our Operations

The COVID-19 pandemic has materially impacted and may continue to materially impact our business, and our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected by factors relating to the pandemic.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic, and the President of the United States proclaimed that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States constituted a national emergency. Extraordinary actions were taken by federal, state and local governmental authorities to combat the spread of COVID-19, including issuance of “stay-at-home” directives and similar mandates for many individuals to substantially restrict daily activities and for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations. While many of the restrictions have eased across the country, the pandemic has not yet been contained in the United States and some areas have re-imposed closures and other restrictions due to increased rates of COVID-19 cases. No assurance can be given that these new closures and restrictions will not continue to occur. The emergence of new and more easily transmitted variants of COVID-19, such as the Delta and Omicron variants, have resulted in a longer-term impact of the restrictions employed to control the COVID-19 pandemic, which have combined to produce significant effects on the job market, supply-chain and materials pricing. In addition, there have been and may continue to be downstream effects of widespread long-term remote working conditions, academic and childcare disruption, and various financial aid measures employed by government sectors. It is unknown which of these effects will be temporary, which will have a long-term impact and what negative impacts or risks may result.

Our ability to lease our apartments and collect rental revenues is dependent upon national, regional and local economic conditions, particularly unemployment levels and personal income levels. As unemployment rises and incomes fall, fewer people, including both current and prospective residents, may be able to afford our apartment communities, and it may be difficult for some of our residents to make timely rental payments to us under their leases.

The persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions intended to prevent its spread could have significant adverse impacts on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows that are difficult to predict. Such adverse impacts will depend on, among other factors:

our residents’ ability or willingness to pay rent in full on a timely basis;

federal, state, local and industry-initiated efforts that may adversely affect the ability of landlords, including us, to collect rent and customary fees, adjust rental rates and enforce remedies for the failure to pay rent, such as the various orders that were issued by governmental authorities and public officials to temporarily halt residential evictions to prevent further spread of COVID-19;

the legacy of the regulatory focus on landlords during the pandemic as distinguished from other providers of essential services;

our ability to renew leases or relet units on favorable terms, or at all, including as a result of unfavorable economic and market conditions in those markets where our apartment communities are located;

our ability to lease or relet units due to social distancing or other restrictions that may frustrate our leasing activities;

our ability to successfully complete the lease-up of properties in our lease-up portfolio and attain expected rental and occupancy rates due to social distancing or other restrictions that may frustrate our leasing activities;

our ability to continue our apartment unit redevelopment programs and attain increased rental rates for renovated or upgraded units due to social distancing or other restrictions;

our ability to complete the construction of properties in our development portfolio on schedule and on budget due to social distancing or other restrictions, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and escalating labor and material costs;

the impact of supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures on our normal business operations, including repair and maintenance work and unit renovations and upgrades;

severe and prolonged disruption and instability in the financial markets, including the debt and equity capital markets, which have already experienced and may continue to experience significant volatility, or deteriorations in credit and financing conditions (or a refusal or failure of one or more lenders under our unsecured revolving credit facility to fund their respective financing commitment to us), which may affect our ability to access capital necessary to fund our business operations or refinance maturing debt on a timely basis, on attractive terms, or at all, which would adversely affect our ability to meet liquidity and capital expenditure requirements;

sustained stock market volatility that negatively affects the market price of our securities, including market conditions unrelated to our operating performance or prospects;

the impact on our workforce of any vaccine mandate implemented by governmental authorities, which could result in employee attrition; and

our ability to manage our business to the extent our management or other personnel are impacted in significant numbers by the COVID-19 pandemic and are not willing, available or allowed to conduct work.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic, financial and capital markets environment present material risks and uncertainties for us. The extent of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows will depend largely on future developments relating to the duration and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, including the continued emergence, persistence, severity and transmissibility of variants of the virus, the efficacy of vaccines, the pace at which governmental restrictions are eased or lifted and the implementation of new or additional mitigation efforts by governmental authorities to control the spread of the disease, such as “stay-at-home” orders, business closures and vaccine mandates. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, if in the future there is an outbreak of another highly infectious or contagious disease or similar public health crisis, we would be subject to similar risks as posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfavorable market and economic conditions could adversely affect occupancy levels, rental revenues and the value of our properties.

Unfavorable market and economic conditions in the areas in which we o

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None.

We own, operate, acquire and selectively develop apartment communities primarily located in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States with the potential for above average growth and return on investment. Approximately 69% of our apartment units are located in the Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas markets. Our strategic focus is to provide our residents high quality apartment units in attractive community settings, characterized by upscale amenities, extensive landscaping and attention to aesthetic detail.

The following schedule summarizes our apartment community portfolio and occupancy levels by location, as of December 31, 2021:

(1)

Number of units excludes development units not yet delivered.

(2)

Average physical occupancy is calculated by dividing the average daily number of units occupied in 2021 by the total number of units at each apartment community.

(3)

Represents a MAA multifamily apartment community expansion development.

(4)

Schedule excludes a 269 unit joint venture property in Washington, D.C.

Thirty-three of our apartment communities reflected in the above table also include retail components. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our Same Store and Non-Same Store and Other segments.

Mortgage Financing

As of December 31, 2021, we had $368.6 million of indebtedness collateralized, secured and outstanding as set forth in Schedule III – Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As disclosed in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we are engaged in certain legal proceedings, and the disclosure set forth in Note 11 relating to legal proceedings is incorporated herein by reference.

Not applicable.

PART II

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.

Market Information

MAA’s common stock has been listed and traded on the NYSE under the symbol “MAA” since its initial public offering in February 1994. As of February 14, 2022, there were approximately 2,300 holders of record of the common stock. MAA believes it has a significantly larger number of beneficial owners of its common stock.

MAA has a history of declaring dividends to holders of MAA common stock. The timing and amount of future dividends will depend on actual cash flows from operations, our financial condition, capital requirements, the annual distribution requirements under the REIT provisions of the Code and other factors as MAA’s Board of Directors deems relevant. MAA’s Board of Directors may modify our dividend policy from time to time.

Direct Stock Purchase and Distribution Reinvestment Plan

We have established the dividend and distribution reinvestment stock purchase plan, or DRSPP, under which holders of common stock, preferred stock and OP Units can elect to automatically reinvest their distributions in shares of MAA common stock. The DRSPP also allows for the optional purchase of MAA common stock of at least $250, but not more than $5,000 in any given month, free of brokerage commissions and charges. In our absolute discretion, we may grant waivers to allow for optional cash payments in excess of $5,000. To fulfill our obligations under the DRSPP, we may either issue additional shares of common stock or repurchase common stock in the open market. We may elect to sell shares under the DRSPP at up to a 5% discount. During the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we had issuances with no discounts through our DRSPP of 6,301 shares, 8,259 shares and 16,219 shares, respectively.

Mid-America Apartments, L.P.

Operating Partnership Units

There is no established public trading market for the Operating Partnership’s OP Units. From time to time, we issue shares of MAA’s common stock in exchange for OP Units tendered to the Operating Partnership for redemption in accordance with the provisions of the Operating Partnership’s limited partnership agreement. As of December 31, 2021, there were 118,542,994 OP Units outstanding in the Operating Partnership, of which 115,336,876 OP Units, or 97.3%, were owned by MAA and 3,206,118 OP Units, or 2.7%, were owned by limited partners. Under the terms of the Operating Partnership’s limited partnership agreement, the limited partner holders of OP Units have the right to require the Operating Partnership to redeem all or a portion of the OP Units held by the holder in exchange for one share of MAA common stock per one OP Unit or a cash payment based on the market value of MAA’s common stock at the time of redemption, at the option of MAA. During the year ended December 31, 2021, MAA issued a total of 851,536 shares of common stock upon redemption of OP Units.

At-the-Market Share Offering Program

In November 2021, the Company entered into an equity distribution agreement to establish a new ATM program, replacing MAA’s previous ATM program and allowing MAA to sell shares of its common stock from time to time to or through its sales agents into the existing market at current market prices, and to enter into separate forward sales agreements to or through its forward purchasers. Under the current ATM program, MAA has the authority to issue up to an aggregate of 4.0 million shares of its common stock, at such times to be determined by MAA. MAA has no obligation to issue shares through the ATM program.

During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, MAA did not sell any shares of common stock under its ATM program. As of December 31, 2021, there were 4.0 million shares remaining under the current ATM program.

Stock Repurchase Plan

In December 2015, MAA’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 4.0 million shares of MAA common stock, which represented approximately 5.3% of MAA’s common stock outstanding at the time of such authorization. From time to time, we may repurchase shares under this authorization when we believe that shareholder value would be enhanced. Factors affecting this determination include, among others, the share price and expected rates of return. As of December 31, 2021, no shares have been repurchased under the authorization.

Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table reflects repurchases of shares of MAA’s common stock during the three months ended December 31, 2021:

(1)

This column reflects the number of shares of MAA’s common stock that are available for purchase under the 4.0 million share repurchase program authorized by MAA’s Board of Directors in December 2015.

Comparison of Five-year Cumulative Total Returns

The following graph compares the cumulative total returns of the shareholders of MAA since December 31, 2016 with the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Apartments Index. The graph assumes that the base share price for our common stock and each index is $100 and that all dividends are reinvested. The performance graph is not necessarily indicative of future investment performance.

Ite****m 6. [Reserved].

The following discussion analyzes the financial condition and results of operations of both MAA and the Operating Partnership, of which MAA is the sole general partner and in which MAA owned a 97.3% interest as of December 31, 2021. MAA conducts all of its business through the Operating Partnership and its various subsidiaries. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including, but not limited to, those under the heading “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

MAA, an S&P 500 company, is a multifamily-focused, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT. We own, operate, acquire and selectively develop apartment communities primarily located in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2021, we owned and operated 290 apartment communities (which does not include development properties under construction) through the Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries, and we had an ownership interest in one apartment community through an unconsolidated real estate joint venture and had six development communities under construction. In addition, as of December 31, 2021, 33 of our apartment communities included retail components. Our apartment communities, including development communities under construction, were located across 16 states and the District of Columbia as of December 31, 2021.

We report in two segments, Same Store and Non-Same Store and Other. Our Same Store segment represents those apartment communities that have been owned and stabilized for at least 12 months as of the first day of the calendar year. Our Non-Same Store and Other segment includes recently acquired communities, communities being developed or in lease-up, communities identified for disposition, communities that have incurred a significant casualty loss and stabilized communities that do not meet the requirements to be Same Store communities. Also included in our Non-Same Store and Other segment are non-multifamily activities. Additional information regarding the composition of our segments is included in Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

For the year ended December 31, 2021, net income available for MAA common shareholders was $530.1 million as compared to $251.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Results for the year ended December 31, 2021 included $221.2 million of gains related to the sale of real estate assets and $40.9 million of gain, net of tax, related to our investments in unconsolidated limited partnerships. Results for the year ended December 31, 2020 included $1.0 million of gains related to the sale of real estate assets and $4.8 million of gain, net of tax, related to our investments in unconsolidated limited partnerships. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased 6.0% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, driven by a 5.5% increase in our Same Store segment. Property operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization, for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased by 4.8% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, driven by a 4.4% increase in our Same Store segment. The primary drivers of these changes are discussed in the “Results of Operations” section.

Trends

During the year ended December 31, 2021, revenue growth for our Same Store segment continued to be primarily driven by growth in average effective rent per unit. The average effective rent per unit for our Same Store segment continued to increase from the prior year, up 5.2% for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. Average effective rent per unit represents the average of gross rent amounts, after the effect of leasing concessions, for occupied apartment units plus prevalent market rates asked for unoccupied apartment units, divided by the total number of units. Leasing concessions represent discounts to the current market rate. We believe average effective rent per unit is a helpful measurement in evaluating average pricing; however, it does not represent actual rental revenue collected per unit. In addition, for the year ended December 31, 2021, average physical occupancy for our Same Store segment was 96.1%, as compared to 95.6% for the year ended year ended December 31, 2020. Average physical occupancy is a measurement of the total number of our apartment units that are occupied by residents, and it represents the average of the daily physical occupancy for the period.

An important part of our portfolio strategy is to maintain diversity of markets, submarkets, product types and price points in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. This diversity tends to mitigate exposure to economic issues in any one geographic market or area. We believe that a well-balanced portfolio, including both urban and suburban locations, with a broad range of monthly rent price points, will perform well in economic up cycles as well as better weather economic down cycles. Through our investment in 36 defined markets, we are diversified across markets, urban and suburban submarkets, and a variety of product types and monthly rent price points.

While the United States economy continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for apartments during the year ended December 31, 2021 was very strong, as evidenced by the accelerating rent growth we achieved. Demand for apartments is primarily driven by general economic conditions in our markets and is particularly correlated to job growth. While our rent growth trends and rent collection trends during the year ended December 31, 2021 were strong, we continue to monitor pressures surrounding supply chain challenges and inflation trends. A worsening of the current environment could contribute to uncertain rent collections going forward and suppress demand for apartments and would likely drive rent growth on new leases and renewals lower than what we achieved during the year ended December 31, 2021. Elevated supply levels could further affect rent growth for our portfolio, particularly for apartment communities located in urban submarkets. To date, properties in suburban submarkets have been somewhat less impacted by supply, primarily because new development has been less prevalent in those submarkets. Supply chain and inflationary pressures would likely drive higher operating expenses, particularly in personnel and repairs and maintenance.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still impacting the country and contributing more uncertainty than normal, we believe that our portfolio strategy of maintaining a diversity of markets, submarkets, product types and rent price points will serve the company better in this environment than a more concentrated portfolio profile. At a portfolio level, we have focused on using our pricing system to maintain strong occupancy. As previously noted, average physical occupancy for our Same Store segment for the year ended December 31, 2021 was 96.1%, which we believe positions us well to manage through the typically slower winter leasing season and progress toward the typically stronger spring and summer leasing season.

Access to the financial markets remains strong, particularly for high credit rated borrowers. During 2021, we were able to efficiently raise capital through the debt market, and we positioned ourselves to access the equity market in the event we have such a need. However, a prolonged disruption of the markets or a decline in credit and financing conditions could negatively affect our ability to access capital necessary to fund our operations or refinance maturing debt in the future. The prospect of rising interest rates could negatively impact our borrowing costs for any variable rate borrowings or refinancing activity; however, as of December 31, 2021, the interest rate on all of our outstanding debt was fixed, and our fixed rate debt maturities in the year ending December 31, 2022 are not significant.

Results of Operations

For the year ended December 31, 2021, we achieved net income available for MAA common shareholders of $530.1 million, a 111.0% increase as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, and total revenue growth of $100.1 million, representing a 6.0% increase in property revenues as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The following discussion describes the primary drivers of the increase in net income available for MAA common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. A discussion of the results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 is found in Item 7 of Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on February 18, 2021, which is available free of charge on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov and on our website at https://www.maac.com, on the “For Investors” page under “Filings and Financials—Annual Reports.”

Property Revenues

The following table reflects our property revenues by segment for the year ended December 31, 2021 (dollars in thousands):

The increase in property revenues for our Same Store segment for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 was the primary driver of total property revenue growth. The Same Store segment generated a 5.5% increase in revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily a result of average effective rent per unit growth of 5.2% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in property revenues from the Non-Same Store and Other segment for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily the result of increased revenues from recently completed development communities. These increases were partially offset by decreased revenues from the disposition of seven multifamily communities during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Property Operating Expenses

Property operating expenses include costs for property personnel, building repairs and maintenance, real estate taxes and insurance, utilities, landscaping and other operating expenses. The following table reflects our property operating expenses by segment for the year ended December 31, 2021 (dollars in thousands):

The increase in property operating expenses for our Same Store segment for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily driven by increases in real estate tax expense of $7.0 million, insurance expense of $6.2 million, building repairs and maintenance of $5.6 million, personnel expense of $4.4 million and utilities expense of $2.7 million. The increase in property operating expenses from the Non-Same Store and Other segment for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily the result of increased property operating expenses from recently completed development communities. These increases were partially offset by decreased property operating expenses from the disposition of seven multifamily communities during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $533.4 million, an increase of $22.6 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by the recognition of depreciation expense associated with our development and capital spend activities made in the normal course of business during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Other Income and Expenses

Property management expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $55.7 million, an increase of $3.4 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $52.9 million, an increase of $6.0 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.

Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $156.9 million, a decrease of $10.7 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease of 27 basis points in our effective interest rate during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in our effective interest rate was primarily due to debt retirements during the year ended December 31, 2021, which were retired with proceeds from unsecured debt issuances with lower effective interest rates over the same period.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, we disposed of seven apartment communities, resulting in a gain on sale of depreciable real estate assets of $220.4 million. We did not dispose of any apartment communities during the year ended December 31, 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we disposed of five land parcels resulting in a gain on sale of non-depreciable real estate assets of $0.8 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we disposed of one land parcel resulting in a gain on sale of non-depreciable real estate assets of $1.0 million.

Other non-operating income for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $33.9 million of income, as compared to $4.9 million of income for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily driven by $51.7 million of non-cash gain from unconsolidated limited partnerships compared to $5.6 million of non-cash gain from unconsolidated limited partnerships during the year ended December 31, 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we also recognized $4.6 million of non-cash expense related to the fair value adjustment of the embedded derivative in the MAA Series I preferred shares compared to the recognition of $2.6 million of non-cash income related to the adjustment of the embedded derivative during the year ended December 31, 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recognized $13.4 million in debt extinguishment costs. Expense recognized related to debt extinguishments during the year ended December 31, 2020 was negligible. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recognized $1.3 million of COVID-19 related expenses compared to $3.5 million of COVID-19 related expenses during the year ended December 31, 2020.

Funds from Operations and Core Funds from Operations

Funds from operations, or FFO, a non-GAAP financial measure, represents net income available for MAA common shareholders (computed in accordance with the United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP) excluding gains or losses on disposition of operating properties and asset impairment, plus depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, net income attributable to noncontrolling interests and adjustments for joint ventures. Because net income attributable to noncontrolling interests is added back, FFO, when used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, represents FFO attributable to the Company.

FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income available for MAA common shareholders or any other GAAP measurement, as an indicator of operating performance or as an alternative to cash flow from operating, investing and financing activities as a measure of liquidity. Management believes that FFO is helpful to investors in understanding our operating performance, primarily because its calculation excludes depreciation and amortization expense on real estate assets. We believe that GAAP historical cost depreciation of real estate assets is generally not correlated with changes in the value of those assets, whose value does not diminish predictably over time, as historical cost depreciation implies. While our calculation of FFO is in accordance with the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts’, or NAREIT’s, definition, it may differ from the methodology for calculating FFO utilized by other REITs and, accordingly, may not be comparable to such other REITs.

Core FFO represents FFO as adjusted for items that are not considered part of our core business operations, such as adjustments related to the fair value of the embedded derivative in the MAA Series I preferred shares, gain or loss on sale of non-depreciable assets, gain or loss from unconsolidated limited partnerships, net casualty gain or loss, gain or loss on debt extinguishment, legal costs and settlements, COVID-19 related costs and mark-to-market debt adjustments. While our definition of Core FFO may be similar to others in the industry, our methodology for calculating Core FFO may differ from that utilized by other REITs and, accordingly, may not be comparable to such other REITs. Core FFO should not be considered as an alternative to net income available for MAA common shareholders as an indicator of operating performance. We believe that Core FFO is helpful in understanding our core operating performance between periods in that it removes certain items that by their nature are not comparable over periods and therefore tend to obscure actual operating performance.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net income available for MAA common shareholders to FFO and Core FFO for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, as we believe net income available for MAA common shareholders is the most directly comparable GAAP measure (dollars in thousands):

(1)

Included in “Other non-operating income” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

(2)

For the year ended December 31, 2021, $51.7 million of gain from unconsolidated limited partnerships is offset by $10.8 million of income tax expense. For the year ended December 31, 2020, $5.6 million of gain from unconsolidated limited partnerships is offset by $0.8 million of income tax expense.

(3)

During the year ended December 31, 2021, we incurred $26.0 million in casualty losses related to winter storm Uri (primarily building repairs, landscaping and asset write-offs). We expect the majority of the casualty losses to be reimbursed through insurance coverage. A receivable has been recognized in “Other non-operating income” for the amount of the recorded losses that we expect to be recovered. Additional costs related to the storm that are not expected to be recovered through insurance coverage, along with other unrelated casualty losses and recoveries, are also reflected in this adjustment. The adjustment is primarily included in “Other non-operating income” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

(4)

Included in “Interest expense” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Core FFO for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $830.6 million, an increase of $69.3 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily as a result of an increase in property revenues of $100.1 million and a decrease in interest expense of $10.7 million. The increases to Core FFO were offset by increases in property operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization, of $30.7 million, general and administrative expenses of $6.0 million and property management expenses of $3.4 million.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

Our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities, as well as general economic and market conditions, are the principal factors affecting our liquidity and capital resources.

We expect that our primary uses of cash will be to fund our ongoing operating needs, to fund our ongoing capital spending requirements, which relate primarily to our development, redevelopment and property repositioning activities, to repay maturing borrowings, to fund the future acquisition of assets and to pay shareholder dividends. We expect to meet our cash requirements through net cash flows from operating activities, existing unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, borrowings under our commercial paper program and our revolving credit facility, the future issuance of debt and equity and the future disposition of assets.

We historically have had positive net cash flows from operating activities. We believe that future net cash flows generated from operating activities, existing unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, borrowing capacity under our current commercial paper program and revolving credit facility, and our ability to issue debt and equity will provide sufficient liquidity to fund the cash requirements for our business over the next 12 months and the foreseeable future.

As of December 31, 2021, we had $1.1 billion of combined unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and available capacity under our revolving credit facility.

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities was $895.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $823.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in operating cash flows was primarily driven by our operating performance.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities was $253.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $484.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The primary drivers of the change were as follows (dollars in thousands):

The decrease in cash outflows for purchases of real estate and other assets was driven by acquisition activity during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in cash outflows for capital improvements and other was primarily driven by reconstruction related capital spend due to winter storm Uri in addition to increased redevelopment capital spend during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in cash outflows for development costs was driven by increased development activity during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in cash inflows related to proceeds from disposition of real estate assets was driven by the disposition of seven multifamily apartment communities during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to no apartment community dispositions during the year ended December 31, 2020.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Net cash used in financing activities was $546.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $374.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The primary drivers of the change were as follows (dollars in thousands):

The increase in cash outflows related to the net change in commercial paper resulted from the decrease in net borrowings of $172.0 million on our commercial paper program during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the increase in net borrowings of $102.0 million on our commercial paper program during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in cash inflows related to proceeds from notes payable primarily resulted from the issuance of $600.0 million of unsecured senior notes during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the issuance of $450.0 million of unsecured senior notes during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in cash outflows from principal payments on notes payable primarily resulted from the retirement of $222.0 million of privately placed unsecured senior notes, $125.0 million of publicly issued unsecured senior notes and $118.6 million of property mortgages during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the retirement of a $300.0 million term loan and $135.7 million of property mortgages during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in cash outflows from dividends paid on common shares primarily resulted from the increase in the dividend rate to $4.10 per share during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the dividend rate of $4.00 per share during the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in cash outflows from the net change in other financing activities was primarily driven by increased debt extinguishment costs paid during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, partially offset by increased cash inflows from contributions received from the noncontrolling interests related to our consolidated real estate entities.

Debt

The following schedule reflects our debt outstanding as of December 31, 2021 (dollars in thousands):

The following schedule presents the contractual maturity dates of our outstanding debt, net of debt issuance costs, discounts, premiums and fair market value adjustments as of December 31, 2021 (dollars in thousands):

(1)

There were no borrowings outstanding under MAALP’s commercial paper program as of December 31, 2021. Under the terms of the program, MAALP may issue up to a maximum aggregate amount outstanding at any time of $500.0 million. For the year ended December 31, 2021, average daily borrowings outstanding under the commercial paper program were $217.8 million.

(2)

There were no borrowings outstanding under MAALP’s $1.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2021. The unsecured revolving credit facility has a maturity date of May 2023 plus two six-month extensions.

The following schedule reflects the interest rate maturities of our outstanding fixed rate debt, net of debt issuance costs, discounts, premiums and fair market value adjustments as of December 31, 2021 (dollars in thousands):

Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility & Commercial Paper

In May 2019, MAALP closed on a $1.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility with a syndicate of banks led by Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and fourteen other banks, which we refer to as the Credit Facility. The Credit Facility replaced our previous unsecured revolving credit facility and includes an expansion option up to $1.5 billion. The Credit Facility bears an interest rate of LIBOR, plus a spread of 0.75% to 1.45% based on an investment grade pricing grid. The Credit Facility matures in May 2023 with an option to extend for two additional six-month periods. As of December 31, 2021, there was no outstanding balance under the Credit Facility, while $4.0 million of capacity was used to support outstanding letters of credit. The Credit Facility serves as our primary source of short-term liquidity.

Certain tenors of the USD LIBOR (one-week and two-month) ceased publication as of December 31, 2021, and all remaining tenors of the USD LIBOR (one, three, six and 12-month) will cease to be published after June 30, 2023. Currently, our exposure to the phase-out of LIBOR is limited to the Credit Facility. The terms of the Credit Facility allow for the transition to an alternate benchmark interest rate, including SOFR, to replace any outstanding USD LIBOR borrowings at the time USD LIBOR is no longer published.

In May 2019, MAALP established an unsecured commercial paper program, whereby it can issue unsecured commercial paper notes with varying maturities not to exceed 397 days up to a maximum aggregate amount outstanding of $500.0 million. As of December 31, 2021, there were no outstanding borrowings under the commercial paper program.

Unsecured Senior Notes

As of December 31, 2021, MAALP had $4.2 billion of publicly issued unsecured senior notes.

In July 2021, MAALP retired a $72.8 million tranche of privately placed unsecured senior notes at maturity.

In August 2021, MAALP publicly issued $300 million in aggregate principal amount of unsecured senior notes maturing September 2026 with a coupon rate of 1.100% per annum. Interest will be paid semi-annually on March 15 and September 15 of each year beginning March 15, 2022.

In August 2021, MAALP also publicly issued $300 million in aggregate principal amount of unsecured senior notes maturing September 2051 with a coupon rate of 2.875% per annum. Interest will be paid semi-annually on March 15 and September 15 of each year beginning March 15, 2022.

In September 2021, MAALP retired a $117.0 million tranche of privately placed unsecured senior notes due in November 2022, a $125.0 million portion of the $250.0 million in aggregate principal amount of publicly issued unsecured senior notes due in December 2022, a $12.3 million tranche of privately placed unsecured senior notes due in July 2023 and a $20.0 million tranche of privately placed unsecured senior notes due in November 2024. We incurred $13.4 million in prepayment penalties and write-offs of unamortized costs resulting from the debt retirements. These costs are included in “Other non-operating income” in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Secured Property Mortgages

MAALP maintains secured property mortgages with various life insurance companies. As of December 31, 2021, MAALP had $368.6 million of secured property mortgages with a weighted average interest rate of 4.4%. In February 2021, MAALP retired a $118.6 million mortgage associated with eight apartment communities prior to its June 2021 maturity.

For more information regarding our debt capital resources, see Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Equity

As of December 31, 2021, MAA owned 115,336,876 OP Units, comprising a 97.3% limited partnership interest in MAALP, while the remaining 3,206,118 outstanding OP Units were held by limited partners of MAALP other than MAA. Holders of OP Units (other than MAA) may require us to redeem their OP Units from time to time, in which case we may, at our option, pay the redemption price either in cash (in an amount per OP Unit equal, in general, to the average closing price of MAA’s common stock on the NYSE over a specified period prior to the redemption date) or by delivering one share of MAA’s common stock (subject to adjustment under specified circumstances) for each OP Unit so redeemed. MAA has registered under the Securities Act the 3,206,118 shares of its common stock that, as of December 31, 2021, were issuable upon redemption of OP Units, in order for those shares to be sold freely in the public markets.

In August 2021, MAA entered into two 18-month forward sale agreements with respect to a total of 1.1 million shares of its common stock at an initial forward sale price of $190.56 per share, which price is net of issuance costs. Under the forward sale agreements, the forward sale price is subject to adjustment on a daily basis based on a floating interest rate factor equal to a specified daily rate less a spread and will be decreased based on amounts related to dividends on MAA’s common stock during the term of the forward sale agreements. No shares had been settled under the forward sale agreements as of December 31, 2021. Subject to certain conditions, we generally have the right to elect cash or net share settlement under the forward sale agreements, although we expect to settle the forward sale agreements entirely by the full physical delivery of shares of MAA’s common stock in exchange for cash proceeds. We intend to use any cash proceeds upon settlement of the forward sale agreements to fund our development and redevelopment activities, among other potential uses.

In November 2021, the Company entered into an equity distribution agreement to establish a new ATM program, replacing MAA’s previous ATM program and allowing MAA to sell shares of its common stock from time to time to or through its sales agents into the existing market at current market prices, and to enter into separate forward sales agreements to or through its forward purchasers. Under its current ATM program, MAA has the authority to issue up to an aggregate of 4.0 million shares of its common stock, at such times to be determined by MAA. MAA has no obligation to issue shares through the ATM program. During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, MAA did not sell any shares of common stock under its ATM program. As of December 31, 2021, there were 4.0 million shares remaining under the current ATM program.

For more information regarding our equity capital resources, see Note 8 and Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Material Cash Requirements

The following table summarizes material cash requirements as of December 31, 2021 related to contractual obligations, which consist of principal and interest on our debt obligations and right-of-use lease obligations (dollars in thousands):

(1)

Represents principal payments gross of discounts, premiums, debt issuance costs and fair market value adjustments of debt assumed.

(2)

Primarily comprised of a ground lease underlying one apartment community we own and the lease of our corporate headquarters.

As of December 31, 2021, we also had contractual obligations, which are not reflected in the table above, to make additional capital contributions to two technology-focused limited partnerships in which we hold equity interests. The capital contributions may be called by the general partners at any time until February 2025 after giving appropriate notice. As of December 31, 2021, we had committed to make additional capital contributions totaling up to $16.0 million if and when called by the general partners of the limited partnerships and until February 2025.

We have other material cash requirements that do not represent contractual obligations, but we expect to incur in the ordinary course of our business.

As of December 31, 2021, we had six development communities under construction totaling 2,021 apartment units once complete. Total expected costs for the six development projects are $460.5 million, of which $273.7 million had been incurred through December 31, 2021. We expect to have additional development projects in the future. In addition, our property development and repositioning activities are ongoing, and we incur expenditures relating to recurring capital replacements, which typically include scheduled carpet replacement, new roofs, HVAC units, plumbing, concrete, masonry and other paving, pools and various exterior building improvements. For the year ending December 31, 2022, we expect that our total capital expenditures relating to our development activities, our property redevelopment and repositioning activities and recurring capital replacements will be in line with our total capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2021.

We typically declare cash dividends on MAA’s common stock on a quarterly basis, subject to approval by MAA’s Board of Directors. We expect to pay quarterly dividends at an annual rate of $4.35 per share of MAA common stock during the year ending December 31, 2022.

Inflation

Our resident leases at our apartment communities allow for adjustments in the rental rate at the time of renewal, which may enable us to seek rent increases. The majority of our leases are for one year or less. The short-term nature of these leases generally serves to reduce our risk to adverse effects of inflation.

Critical Accounting Estimates

A critical accounting estimate is one that is both important to our financial condition and results of operations and that involves some degree of uncertainty. The preceding discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make a number of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions based upon historical experience and various other factors and circumstances. We believe that our estimates and assumptions are reasonable under the circumstances; however, actual results may differ from these estimates and assumptions.

We believe that the estimates and assumptions summarized below are most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations because they involve a significant level of estimation uncertainty and they have had, or are reasonably likely to have, a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

Acquisition of real estate assets

We account for our acquisitions of investments in real estate as asset acquisitions in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 805, Business Combinations, which requires the cost of the real estate acquired to be allocated to the individual acquired tangible assets, consisting of land, buildings and improvements and other, and identified intangible assets, consisting of the value of in-place leases and other contracts, on a relative fair value basis. In calculating the asset value of acquired tangible and intangible assets, management may use significant subjective inputs, including forecasted net operating income, or NOI, and market

specific capitalization and discount rates. Management analyzes historical stabilized NOI to determine its estimate for forecasted NOI. Management estimates the market capitalization rate by analyzing the market capitalization rates for sold properties with comparable ages in similarly sized markets. Management allocates the purchase price of the asset acquisition based on the relative fair value of the individual components as a proportion of the total assets acquired. During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we did not acquire any real estate assets that required us to allocate the cost of the real estate asset to the individual acquired tangible and intangible assets.

Impairment of long-lived assets

We account for long-lived assets in accordance with the provisions of accounting standards for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets. Management periodically evaluates long-lived assets, including investments in real estate, for indicators that would suggest that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. The judgments regarding the existence of such indicators are based on factors such as operating performance, market conditions and legal factors. Long-lived assets, such as real estate assets, equipment, right-of-use lease assets and purchased intangibles subject to amortization, are grouped with other assets and liabilities at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities, or an asset group. Management generally considers the individual assets of an apartment community to collectively represent an asset group. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. Management calculates the fair value of an asset by dividing estimated future cash flows by a market capitalization rate. No material impairment losses were recognized during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Our impairment assessments contain uncertainties because they require management to make assumptions and to apply judgment to estimate future cash flows and the fair value of the assets. Key assumptions used in estimating future cash flows and the fair value of an asset include projecting an apartment community’s NOI, estimating asset useful lives, disposition dates and recurring capital expenditures, as well as selecting an appropriate market capitalization rate. Management considers its apartment communities’ historical stabilized NOI performance, local market economics and the business environment impacting our apartment communities as the basis in projecting forecasted NOI, which management believes is representative of future cash flows. Management estimates the market capitalization rate by analyzing the market capitalization rates for sold properties with comparable ages in similarly sized markets. These estimates are subjective and our ability to realize future cash flows and asset fair values is affected by factors such as ongoing maintenance and improvement of the assets, changes in economic conditions and changes in operating performance.

Loss contingencies

The outcomes of claims, disputes and legal proceedings are subject to significant uncertainty. Management records an accrual for loss contingencies when a loss is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. We also accrue an estimate of defense costs expected to be incurred in connection with legal matters. Management reviews these accruals quarterly and makes revisions based on changes in facts and circumstances. When a loss contingency is not both probable and reasonably estimable, then we do not accrue the loss. However, for material loss contingencies, if the unrecorded loss (or an additional loss in excess of the accrual) is at least a reasonable possibility and material, then management discloses a reasonable estimate of the possible loss, or range of loss, if such reasonable estimate can be made. If we cannot make a reasonable estimate of the possible loss, or range of loss, then a statement to that effect is disclosed.

The assessment of whether a loss is probable or a reasonable possibility, and whether the loss or range of loss is reasonably estimable, often involves a series of complex and qualitative judgments about future events. Among the factors that we consider in this assessment, including with respect to the matters disclosed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, are the nature of existing legal proceedings and claims, the asserted or possible damages or loss contingency (if reasonably estimable), the progress of the matter, existing law and precedent, the opinions or views of legal counsel and other advisers, our experience in similar matters, the facts available to us at the time of assessment, and how we intend to respond, or have responded, to the proceeding or claim. Management’s assessment of these factors may change over time as individual proceedings or claims progress. For matters where we are not currently able to reasonably estimate a range of reasonably possible loss, the factors that have contributed to this determination include the following: (i) the damages sought are indeterminate; (ii) the proceedings are in the early stages; (iii) the matters involve novel or unsettled legal theories or a large or uncertain number of actual or potential cases or parties; and/or (iv) discussions with the parties in matters that are expected ultimately to be resolved through negotiation and settlement have not reached the point where we believe a reasonable estimate of loss, or range of loss, can be made. In such instances, management believes that there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing or ultimate resolution of such matters, including a possible eventual loss or business impact, if any.

Valuation of embedded derivative

The redemption feature embedded in the MAA Series I preferred stock is reported as a derivative asset and is adjusted to its fair value at each reporting date, with a corresponding non-cash adjustment to the income statement. The derivative asset related to the redemption feature is valued using widely accepted valuation techniques, including a discounted cash flow analysis in which the perpetual value of the preferred shares is compared to the value of the preferred shares assuming the call option is exercised, with the value of the bifurcated call option as the difference between the two values. The analysis reflects the contractual terms of the redeemable preferred shares, which are redeemable at our option beginning on October 1, 2026 and at the redemption price of $50 per share. We use various significant inputs in the analysis, including trading data available on the preferred shares, coupon yields on preferred stock issuances from REITs with similar credit ratings as MAA and treasury rates to determine the fair value of the bifurcated call option. As a result of the adjustments recorded to reflect the change in fair value of the derivative asset, the fair value of the embedded derivative asset decreased to $34.5 million as of December 31, 2021 as compared to $39.0 million as of December 31, 2020, a decrease in value of the asset of $4.5 million.

Arriving at the valuation of the embedded derivative requires a significant amount of subjective judgment by management, and the valuation of the embedded derivative is highly sensitive to changes in certain inputs in the analysis. For example, changes in the inputs of the trading data available on the preferred shares, coupon yields on preferred stock issuances from REITs with similar credit ratings as MAA and treasury rates could cause the valuation of the embedded derivative to materially change from the recorded balance as of December 31, 2021. For instance, holding all other assumptions constant, a $1 decrease in the trading price of the preferred shares as of December 31, 2021 would result in a decrease in fair value of the embedded derivative asset of approximately $6 million.

Significant Accounting Policies

For more information regarding our significant accounting policies, including the accounting polices related to the critical accounting estimates discussed above as well as a brief description of recent accounting pronouncements that could have a material impact on our financial statements, see Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Market risk includes risks that arise from changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices, equity prices and other market changes that affect market sensitive instruments. Our primary market risk exposure is to changes in interest rates on our borrowings. As of December 31, 2021, 14.2% of our total market capitalization consisted of debt borrowings. Our interest rate risk objective is to limit the impact of interest rate fluctuations on earnings and cash flows and to lower our overall borrowing costs. To achieve this objective, we manage our exposure to fluctuations in market interest rates for borrowings through the use of fixed rate debt instruments and from time to time interest rate swaps to effectively fix the interest rate on anticipated future debt transactions. We use our best efforts to have our debt instruments mature across multiple years, which we believe limits our exposure to interest rate changes in any one year. We do not enter into derivative instruments for trading or other speculative purposes. As of December 31, 2021, 100.0% of our outstanding debt was subject to fixed rates. We regularly review interest rate exposure on outstanding borrowings in an effort to minimize the risk of interest rate fluctuations.

The consolidated financial statements and related financial information required to be filed are set forth on pages F-1 to F-42 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

None.

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

MAA is required to maintain disclosure controls and procedures, within the meaning of Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15. MAA’s management, with the participation of MAA’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of MAA’s disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Based on that evaluation, MAA’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2021 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by MAA in its Exchange Act filings is accurately recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to MAA’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

(b) Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

MAA’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting within the meaning of Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15. MAA’s management, with the participation of MAA’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of MAA’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 based on the framework specified in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on such evaluation, MAA’s management concluded that MAA’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021.

Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that has audited the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, has issued an attestation report on MAA’s internal control over financial reporting, which is included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can only provide reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

(c) Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change to MAA’s internal control over financial reporting, within the meaning of Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15, that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2021 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, MAA’s internal control over financial reporting.

Mid-America Apartments, L.P.

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Operating Partnership is required to maintain disclosure controls and procedures, within the meaning of Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15. Management of the Operating Partnership, with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of MAA, as the general partner of the Operating Partnership, carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Operating Partnership’s disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of MAA, as the general partner of the Operating Partnership, concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2021 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Operating Partnership in its in Exchange Act filings is accurately recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to the Operating Partnership’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of MAA, as the general partner of the Operating Partnership, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

(b) Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Management of the Operating Partnership is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting within the meaning of Exchange Act Rule 13a-15 and 15d-15. Management of the Operating Partnership, with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of MAA, as the general partner of the Operating Partnership, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Operating Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 based on the framework specified in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on such evaluation, management of the Operating Partnership has concluded that the Operating Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021. An

attestation report of the independent registered public accounting firm of the Operating Partnership will not be required as long as the Operating Partnership is a non-accelerated filer.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can only provide reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

(c) Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change to the Operating Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting, within the meaning of Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15, that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2021 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Operating Partnership’s internal control over financial reporting.

None.

Not applicable.

PART III

The information contained in MAA’s 2022 Proxy Statement in the sections entitled “Current Board Composition”, “Director Nominees for Election” and “Executive Officers of the Registrant” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item 10.

Our Board of Directors has adopted a Code of Conduct applicable to all officers, directors and employees, including the CEO, CFO and principal accounting officer, which can be found on our website at https://www.maac.com, on the “For Investors” page in the “Corporate Documents” section under “Overview—Corporate Governance”. We will provide a copy of this document to any person, without charge, upon request, by writing to the Legal Department at MAA, 6815 Poplar Avenue, Suite 500, Germantown, Tennessee 38138. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirement under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding an amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of the Code of Conduct by posting such information on our website at the address and the locations specified above. Reference to our website does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the site and should not be considered part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The information contained in MAA’s 2022 Proxy Statement in the sections entitled “Executive Compensation Tables”, “Director Compensation Table”, “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation”, “Compensation Committee Report” and “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item 11.

The information contained in MAA’s 2022 Proxy Statement in the sections entitled “Security Ownership of Management”, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners” and “Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item 12.

The information contained in MAA’s 2022 Proxy Statement in the sections entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and “Indebtedness of Management” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item 13.

The information contained in MAA’s 2022 Proxy Statement in the section entitled “Audit and Non-Audit Fees” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this Item 14.

PART IV

(a)

The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:

† Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

• This certification is being furnished solely to accompany this Annual Report on Form 10-K pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, and is not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of MAA or MAALP, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filings.

(b)

Exhibits: See Item 15(a)(3) above.

(c)

Financial Statement Schedule: See Item 15(a)(2) above.

None.

SIGNAT****URES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant as an officer or director of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., in its capacity as the general partner of the registrant and on the dates indicated.

Report of Independent Regist****ered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a)(2) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) and our report dated February 17, 2022 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

**Critic

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