Organization and Basis of Presentation (Details) shares in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015 property associated_center mixed_use_center state mall community_center subsidiary office_building shares
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Number of states in which entity operates | state	27
Number of regional malls/open-air centers in which interest is owned by the partnership	82
Number of associated centers in which interest is owned by the partnership | associated_center	27
Number of community centers in which interest is owned by the partnership | community_center	11
Number of office buildings in which interest is owned by the partnership | office_building	13
Number of properties | property	133
CBL & Associates Limited Partnership
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Number of subsidiaries owned by the company | subsidiary	2
Percentage ownership of the sole general partner in partnership	1.00%
Percentage of limited partnership interest owned by CBL Holdings II, Inc. in the operating partnership	84.30%
Combined percentage ownership by the subsidiaries in operating partnership	85.30%
Consolidated properties
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Number of regional malls/open-air centers in which interest is owned by the partnership	72
Number of associated centers in which interest is owned by the partnership | associated_center	23
Number of community centers in which interest is owned by the partnership | community_center	7
Number of office buildings in which interest is owned by the partnership | office_building	8
Number of properties | property	110
Number of mixed-use centers owned | mixed_use_center	1
Number of malls under expansion	4
Number of malls under redevelopments	4
Percentage ownership interest in qualified subsidiaries	100.00%
Percentage of non controlling limited partner interest ownership of CBL's Predecessor in the Operating Partnership	9.10%
Percentage of non controlling limited partner interest of third parties in Operating partnership	5.60%
Number of company's common stock owned by CBL's Predecessor (in shares) | shares	3.5
Total combined effective interest of CBL's Predecessor in Operating Partnership (as a percent)	10.90%
Unconsolidated Properties
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Number of regional malls/open-air centers in which interest is owned by the partnership	10
Number of associated centers in which interest is owned by the partnership | associated_center	4
Number of community centers in which interest is owned by the partnership | community_center	4
Number of office buildings in which interest is owned by the partnership | office_building	5
Number of properties | property	23
Number of community centers under development | community_center	1
Number of malls under expansion	1
Number of community centers under expansion	1
Number of malls under redevelopments	2