Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Increase (Decrease) in Variable Rate Basis

No definition available.

Name:	cbl_DebtInstrumentInterestRateIncreaseDecreaseinVariableRateBasis
Namespace Prefix:	cbl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Secured Debt to Total Assets

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cbl_DebtInstrumentSecuredDebtToTotalAssetsRatio
Namespace Prefix:	cbl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Notice Required to Redeem Debt, Term

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cbl_NoticeRequiredtoRedeemDebtTerm
Namespace Prefix:	cbl_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775744&loc=d3e28551-108399

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 55
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775985&loc=d3e28878-108400

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The percentage points added to the reference rate to compute the variable rate on the interest rate derivative.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeBasisSpreadOnVariableRate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Weighted average interest rate of long-term debt outstanding calculated at point in time.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtWeightedAverageInterestRate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

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- Details

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- Details

Name:	cbl_LongTermDebtInterestRateAxis=cbl_FixedRateInterestMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=cbl_A5.250SeniorNotesDue2023Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
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- Details

Name:	us-gaap_VariableRateAxis=cbl_TreasuryRateMember
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- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=cbl_SeniorNotesDue2024Member
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- Details

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- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=cbl_SeniorNotesDue2023and2024Member
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- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=cbl_SeniorUnsecuredNotesMember
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- Details

Name:	cbl_DebtCovenantsActualVsRequiredAxis=cbl_DebtCovenantRatiosActualMember
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Mortgage and Other Indebtedness, Net - Senior Unsecured Notes (Details) - USD ($)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate (as a percent)	5.04%	4.74%
Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Notice required to redeem debt, term	30 days
Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Notice required to redeem debt, term	60 days
Interest Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate (as a percent)	5.37%	5.37%
Senior Notes Due 2023
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Amount	$ 450,000,000
Senior Notes Due 2023 \| Treasury Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Derivative, basis spread on variable rate	0.40%
Senior Notes Due 2023 \| Interest Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate (as a percent)	5.25%	5.25%
Senior Notes Due 2024
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Amount	$ 300,000,000
Senior Notes Due 2024 \| Treasury Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Derivative, basis spread on variable rate	0.35%
Senior Notes Due 2024 \| Interest Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate (as a percent)	4.60%	4.60%
Senior Notes Due 2026
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Amount	$ 625,000,000
Senior Notes Due 2026 \| Treasury Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Derivative, basis spread on variable rate	0.50%
Senior Notes Due 2026 \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Secured debt to total assets (as a percent)	40.00%
Senior Notes Due 2026 \| Interest Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate (as a percent)	5.95%	5.95%
Senior Notes Due 2023 and 2024 \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Secured debt to total assets (as a percent)	40.00%
Senior Notes Due 2023 and 2024 \| Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Secured debt to total assets (as a percent)	45.00%
Senior Notes Due 2023 and 2024 \| Interest Rate \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, increase in variable interest rate	0.25%
Senior Notes Due 2023 and 2024 \| Interest Rate \| Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, increase in variable interest rate	1.00%
Senior Unsecured Notes \| Actual
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Secured debt to total assets (as a percent)	24.00%