Form of Agreement for Grant of Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units with attached Award Terms (subject to changes in weightings, target levels of achievement and metrics used in the award agreement.)

You have been granted performance-based restricted stock units under the AvalonBay Communities, Inc. Second Amended and Restated 2009 Equity Incentive Plan (as the same has or may be amended, the “Plan”), subject to the following Award Terms. This grant is also subject to the terms of (i) your Personal Performance Award Agreement Exhibit(s) (“Personal Exhibit”), as further explained herein, and (ii) the Plan, which is hereby incorporated by reference. To the extent that an Award Term conflicts with the Plan, the Plan shall govern.

You are being awarded performance-based restricted stock units (the “Units”). Units are bookkeeping entries only, and you shall have no rights as a stockholder of the Company, and no dividend and voting rights, with respect to the Units, nor shall a notional amount be reinvested in respect of “phantom dividends” for the purpose of crediting your account with additional Units.

Your Personal Exhibit sets forth certain principal terms about the Units awarded for the applicable Performance Period, such as the performance metrics which will apply to determine the final number of Units earned. The terms included in your Personal Exhibit include the following:

Date of Grant

Number of Target Units Awarded

Performance Period

Total Shareholder Return and/or Operating Performance Metrics

You may not sell, gift, or otherwise transfer or dispose of any of the Units.

If you remain an active employee of AvalonBay from the Date of Grant through the last day of the Performance Period, then the number of Units you will earn at the end of the Performance Period will be based upon the performance of (i) the Company’s Total Shareholder Return, and/or (ii) the Company’s performance as measured against certain metrics of operating performance, in each case over the Performance Period and as described in your Personal Exhibit.

In the event your employment terminates for any reason before the completion of the first year of a Performance Period (i.e., for a Performance Period beginning on January 1, 20xx, if your last day of employment is before December 31, 20xx), whether with or without cause, or by reason of death or disability or your voluntary departure or retirement, you shall forfeit all Units and none of the Units shall be earned.

In the event your employment terminates on account of any of the following (each, a “Qualifying Termination”):

death,

Disability (as defined in the Company’s standard form of Restricted Stock Agreement as in effect on March 1 of the first year of the Performance Period and thereafter, if applicable, subsequently amended (the “Restricted Stock Agreement Form” or, if not defined therein, as defined in the Plan),

Retirement (as defined in the Restricted Stock Agreement Form or, if not defined therein, as defined in the Plan), or

termination without Cause (as defined in the Restricted Stock Agreement Form or, if not defined therein, as defined in the Plan),

your employment terminates in a Qualifying Termination after the completion of one year of service during the Performance Period and you sign a Separation Agreement as described above,

you served for 45% of the Performance Period, and

it is determined that 150% of target is achieved for that award,

In the event your employment terminates on account of any reason other than those listed in (A) immediately above (and thus including a termination with

In the event that you take a leave of absence during the Performance Period, then, unless prohibited by law, the Company may adjust, in its sole discretion and up to a full forfeiture, the percentage of Units that are earned hereunder to equitably reflect (in the sole discretion of the Company) such absence. Without limiting the foregoing, it is noted that such adjustment may be made, in the sole discretion of the Company, by prorating the number of Units that would otherwise be earned without a leave of absence by:

the portion of the year worked without a leave of absence during the last year of the Performance Period (e.g., if nine months are worked during the last year of the Performance Period, there may be a 25% downward adjustment in the percentage of Units that are earned (3 months absence divided by 12 months in the last year of the performance period), or

the portion of the Performance Period worked without a leave of absence (e.g., if three months are missed due to a leave of absence during a 36 month Performance Period there may be an 8.33% downward adjustment in the percentage of Units that are earned (3 months absence divided by 36 months in the Performance Period)).

If a Sale Event occurs during the Performance Period, then all outstanding Performance Awards shall vest at their target value (i.e., target number of units) and one unrestricted share of AvalonBay Common Stock shall be issued to you as of the date of the Sale Event for each Unit so earned, and the Company shall promptly pay to you, subject to tax withholding, an amount of cash equal to the dividends that would have been payble on such number of shares during the Performance Period up until the date of the Sale Event based on New York Stock Exchange ex-dividend dates (and not dividend payment dates) that occurred during the Performance Period, without any supplement thereto in the nature of interest or compounding thereon.

Any notice to be given under the terms of this Award Agreement to the Company shall be addressed to the Company in care of its Secretary, and any notice to be given to

Titles and captions are provided herein for convenience only and are not to serve as a basis for interpretation or construction of this Award Agreement. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the respective meanings ascribed thereto in the Plan or as the context otherwise reasonably indicates.

This Award Agreement may be amended only by a writing executed by the parties hereto which specifically states that it is amending this Award Agreement.

The laws of the State of Maryland shall govern the interpretation, validity, administration, enforcement and performance of the terms of this Award Agreement regardless of the law that might be applied under principles of conflicts of laws.

In order to administer the Plan and this Award Agreement and to implement or structure future equity grants, the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates and certain agents thereof (together, the “Relevant Companies”) may process any and all personal or professional data, including but not limited to Social Security or other identification number, home address and telephone number, date of birth and other information that is necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan and/or this Award Agreement (the “Relevant Information”). By entering into this Award Agreement, you (i) authorize the Company to collect, process, register and transfer to the Relevant Companies all Relevant Information; (ii) waive any privacy rights you may have with respect to the Relevant Information; (iii) authorize the Relevant Companies to store and transmit such information in electronic form; and (iv) authorize the transfer of the Relevant Information to any jurisdiction in which the Relevant Companies consider appropriate. You shall have access to, and the right to change, the Relevant Information. Relevant Information will only be used in accordance with applicable law.

The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to current or future participation in the Plan by electronic means. You hereby consent to receive such documents by electronic delivery and agree to participate in the Plan through an on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or a third party designated by the Company. By electronically accepting the Award Agreement and participating in the Plan, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions in the Plan and this Award Agreement.

By accepting an award of Units, you agree that, for a period of at least twenty-four (24) months following your termination of employment with the Company for any reason, you will not, without the prior written consent of the Company, solicit or attempt to solicit for employment with or on behalf of any other person, firm or entity any employee of the Company or any of its affiliates or any other person who was formerly employed by the Company or any of its affiliates within the preceding six months, unless such person’s employment was terminated by the Company or such affiliates.

The Company’s Board of Directors has adopted a Policy for Recoupment of Incentive

The Company's obligation (i) to issue or deliver to you any certificate or certificates for unrestricted shares of AvalonBay Common Stock (“Stock”) in settlement of earned Units or (ii) to pay to you any dividends or make any distributions with respect to the shares of Stock issued in settlement of earned Units, is in each case expressly conditioned on the Company's satisfaction of its obligation, if any, to withhold taxes. You shall, not later than the date as of which the receipt of shares of Stock in settlement of earned Units becomes a taxable event for Federal income tax purposes, pay to the Company or make arrangements satisfactory to the Administrator for payment of any Federal, state, and local taxes required by law to be withheld on account of such taxable event. The Company shall satisfy any required minimum tax withholding obligation (or such greater tax withholding as the Administrator may approve) by withholding, from shares of Stock to be issued or released by the transfer agent in connection with the settlement of Units, a number of shares of Stock with an aggregate Fair Market Value that would satisfy the withholding amount due (with the resulting number being rounded up to the nearest whole share of Stock). In addition, by acceptance of this Award, you agrees that for all outstanding Awards not yet vested under the Plan, the Company shall satisfy any required minimum tax withholding obligation (or such greater tax withholding as the Administrator may approve) by withholding from shares of Stock to be issued under such awards a number of shares of Stock with an aggregate Fair Market Value that would satisfy the minimum tax withholding amount due (with the resulting number being rounded up to the nearest whole share of Stock).

You agree that, to the extent the terms in these Award Terms (including any terms relating to accelerated vesting and conditions thereto, but in no event including (i) the number of units, (ii) the vesting schedule or calendar of vesting dates of units (or shares upon settlement of units or a cash payment equal to accrued dividends thereon), or (iii) the metrics or calculations for determining performance achievement) conflict with the Award Terms in any previously awarded and agreed to performance award agreement that is still outstanding (i.e., unforfeited and the performance period not yet complete), the provisions in these Award Terms shall apply. You also acknowledge that you may be required to evidence your acknowledgement of this award and agreement to the terms hereof by accepting this award in the Company’s stock plan administrator’s system, which acceptance may be required within a certain number of days from the grant date hereof in accordance with instructions and/or announcements provided by the Company to you and failing to accept this award within the Company’s stock plan administrator’s system within such number of days may constitute grounds for forfeiture of this award in the Company’s sole and absolute discretion.

This Award Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.