ORGANIZATION - Narrative (Details) shares in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 subsidiary state shares
Parent
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Number of company's common stock owned by CBL's Predecessor (shares) | shares	4.0
Subsidiaries
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
Number of subsidiaries owned by the company (subsidiary) | subsidiary	2
CBL Holdings | Subsidiaries
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Ownership interest in qualified subsidiaries (as a percent)	100.00%
Operating Partnership | Parent
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Ownership interest of the sole general partner in partnership (as a percent)	9.10%
Non-controlling limited partner interest of third parties in Operating partnership (as a percent)	4.30%
Total combined effective interest of CBL's Predecessor in Operating Partnership (as a percent)	11.10%
Operating Partnership | Subsidiaries
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Ownership interest of the sole general partner in partnership (as a percent)	1.00%
Limited partnership interest owned by CBL Holdings II, Inc. in the operating partnership (as a percent)	85.60%
Combined ownership interest by the subsidiaries in operating partnership (as a percent)	86.60%