Organization and Basis of Presentation (Narrative) (Details) shares in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017 subsidiary state shares
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Number of states in which entity operates (state) | state	26
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) | 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	84.80%
Combined percentage ownership by the subsidiaries in operating partnership	85.80%
Consolidated properties
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
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	5.10%
Number of company's common stock owned by CBL's Predecessor (in shares) | shares	3.8
Total combined effective interest of CBL's Predecessor in Operating Partnership	11.00%