المالك بالشقة.

Because in Arabic, a present-tense sentence like this often has no written or spoken verb for is/am/are.

So المالك بالشقة is a normal Arabic sentence structure:

• المالك = the owner
• بالشقة = in the apartment

Arabic simply puts them together to mean the owner is in the apartment.

If you wanted past tense, you would usually add كان:

• المالك كان بالشقة = the owner was in the apartment

بالشقة is made of three parts:

• بـ = in / at
• الـ = the
• شقة = apartment

So:

• بالشقة = in the apartment

This is a very common kind of Arabic contraction.

In Levantine Arabic, بـ is very commonly used for location, where English would use in or at.

So both of these can mean roughly the same thing:

• المالك بالشقة
• المالك في الشقة

But:

• بالشقة sounds very natural in Levantine speech
• في الشقة feels more standard or a bit more formal

Because ش is a sun letter.

When الـ comes before a sun letter, the ل is not pronounced, and the next consonant is doubled in pronunciation.

So:

• written: الشقة
• pronounced roughly: ish-sha… / esh-sha… (depending on region)

That is why بالشقة is pronounced with a doubled sh sound, not bal-sh….

A rough pronunciation would be:

• il-mālek bish-shaʔʔa or
• el-mālek besh-shaʔʔa

This varies by region, but the important things to notice are:

• المالك often sounds like il-mālek or el-mālek
• بالشقة has a doubled sh sound
• the ق in شقة is often pronounced as a glottal stop in many Levantine varieties

Normally, no.

المالك بالشقة is understood as a sentence meaning the owner is in the apartment.

If you want to say the owner of the apartment, Arabic would more naturally use an idafa construction, such as:

• مالك الشقة = the owner of the apartment
• صاحب الشقة = the apartment’s owner / the owner of the apartment

So the بـ here is locational, not possessive.

Literally, المالك means the owner.

In context, it can sometimes mean:

• the property owner
• the landlord

But the core meaning is owner.

In everyday Levantine, people may also say:

• صاحب الشقة = the owner of the apartment
• صاحب البيت = the house owner / landlord, depending on context

So المالك is correct, but it can sound a bit more formal than some everyday alternatives.

Usually, no.

The normal sentence is simply:

• المالك بالشقة

Adding هو is not necessary in an ordinary present-tense sentence.

If someone says:

• المالك هو بالشقة

that can sound more emphatic or marked, but it is not the default way to say it.

The overall structure is fine in both, but the use of بـ for location is especially characteristic of spoken Levantine.

• Levantine-style: المالك بالشقة
• More standard/MSA-style: المالك في الشقة

So the sentence feels colloquial and natural for Levantine because of بالشقة.

In Levantine, the most common way is with مش:

• المالك مش بالشقة = the owner is not in the apartment

That is the natural everyday negative pattern.

In spoken Levantine, you can often just use intonation:

• المالك بالشقة؟ = Is the owner in the apartment?

You do not always need a special question word for yes/no questions.

In more formal Arabic, you might see هل, but in everyday Levantine, rising intonation is usually enough.