Proprietarul discută cu chiriașul despre utilități.

Because Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun, not before it like English does.

• proprietar = owner / landlord
• proprietarul = the owner / the landlord

So -ul here means the.

This is very common in Romanian:

• băiat = boy
• băiatul = the boy

It can mean either, depending on context.

In this sentence, because it is talking to chiriașul (the tenant) about utilități (utilities), English speakers would usually understand proprietarul as the landlord.

So:

• literal meaning: the owner
• natural meaning here: the landlord

Discută is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb a discuta (to discuss).

So:

• eu discut = I discuss / I am discussing
• tu discuți = you discuss
• el/ea discută = he/she discusses

Since proprietarul is a singular subject, Romanian uses discută.

It is related in meaning, but the pronunciation is Romanian.

A rough pronunciation is:

dis-KOO-tuh

More exactly:

• u sounds like oo in food
• final ă is the Romanian schwa, like the a in sofa

So discută is not pronounced like English discuss, even though they are similar words historically and in meaning.

Because cu means with, and after many Romanian prepositions, the noun often keeps the same basic form you already know.

Here:

• chiriaș = tenant
• chiriașul = the tenant
• cu chiriașul = with the tenant

So the important thing is:

• cu = with
• chiriașul is simply the tenant, with the definite article attached

Romanian does have case-related behavior, but in a sentence like this, a learner will usually just recognize cu + noun as with + noun.

chiriaș means tenant, and chiriașul means the tenant.

Again, the ending -ul is the definite article:

• chiriaș = tenant
• chiriașul = the tenant

So both main nouns in the sentence are definite:

• Proprietarul = The landlord
• chiriașul = the tenant

Despre means about.

So:

• discută despre utilități = discusses about utilities in a very literal word-for-word sense

But in natural English, we usually say:

• discusses utilities
• or is talking about utilities

Romanian commonly uses despre after verbs of talking or discussing:

• vorbește despre... = talks about...
• discută despre... = discusses / talks about...

Here utilități means utilities, especially household services and bills such as:

• electricity
• gas
• water
• heating
• internet, sometimes depending on context

The singular noun is utilitate, but in real-life housing contexts Romanian often uses the plural utilități.

Because utilities are normally thought of as a group of services, not just one thing.

So Romanian, like English, often uses the plural:

• utilități = utilities

If you were talking about one specific type of utility in a more abstract way, singular utilitate could appear, but in landlord-tenant situations the plural is much more natural.

A rough guide:

• chiriașul ≈ kee-ree-A-shul
• utilități ≈ oo-tee-lee-TUH-ts

A few key Romanian letters here:

• ș = sh
• ț = ts
• ă = a short neutral vowel, like the a in sofa

So:

• chiriașul has ș = sh
• utilități has ț = ts and ă in the middle syllable

Romanian word order is fairly flexible, but this sentence uses a very normal, neutral order:

Proprietarul discută cu chiriașul despre utilități.

That is basically: Subject + Verb + with + Noun + about + Noun

You might also hear variations for emphasis, but this version is the most straightforward for a learner.

For example, Romanian could move things around in conversation, but the standard form here is completely natural.

Yes, often you could.

Compare:

• Proprietarul discută cu chiriașul despre utilități.
• Proprietarul vorbește cu chiriașul despre utilități.

Both are natural.

The difference is small:

• a discuta = to discuss
• a vorbi = to speak / to talk

So discută can sound a little more like there is a specific topic being discussed, while vorbește is slightly more general.

Because Romanian normally uses an attached definite article, called an enclitic article.

Instead of saying:

• the owner
• the tenant

Romanian says:

• proprietarul
• chiriașul

So one of the biggest things for English speakers to get used to is that the usually appears as a noun ending, not as a separate word before the noun.