The card does not say anything about whether or not the property is mortgaged. Also, it does not say anything like "twice what is entitled" like the similar railroad card does. I would go with you still have to pay, but I'm looking for backup to my opinion.
Here's what the card says:
Advance token to nearest Utility. If unowned, you may buy it from the Bank. If owned, throw dice and pay owner a total ten times the amount thrown
Yes, you have to pay. Consider what the card says:
Advance token to nearest Utility. If unowned, you may buy it from the Bank. If owned, throw dice and pay owner a total ten times the amount thrown.
This has nothing to do with paying rent.
As you mentioned, there is another Chance card that sends you to a railroad:
Advance token to the nearest Railroad and pay owner twice the rental to which he/she is otherwise entitled. If Railroad is unowned, you may buy it from the Bank.
This card refers to the amount to which the owner is otherwise entitled, namely rent. If the property is mortgaged, that amount is zero. The card you're asking about makes no such reference.
I was initially on the side of "it's not a rent" (so is unaffected by mortgage state). But thinking about it, I've been forced to change my mind.
My initial thinking was as follows:
The following cards levy fines, but are not considered "rent" for being on the Chance/Community Chest square, and hence set the precedent: card-based fees are not rent.
"Make general repairs on all your property"; "Pay poor tax of $15"; "You have been elected the Chairman of the board - Pay each player $50". Community Chest: "Doctor's fees"; "Pay Hospital fees of $100"; "Pay school fees of $150"; "You are assessed for street repairs".
The following cards direct movement which could land you on an owned position, without giving instructions about rent to be paid, nor what may/should be done if the property is unowned. These cards set the precedent: buying or renting rules are unaffected unless stated.
"Go Back 3 Spaces"; "Advance to St Charles' Place"; "Advance to Illinois Ave"; "Take a trip to Reading Railroad".
My initial point of view was based on these two precedents. They seemed clear.
But then I thought further.
Only one other card directs movement to an ownable square. This card sets the (far weaker) precedent: terms for buying unowned spaces are restated, if the rental terms are also modified on the same card.
"Advance token to the nearest Railroad and pay the owner twice the rental to which he/she is otherwise entitled. If Railroad is unowned, you may buy it from the bank."
The Utilities card remains ambiguous. The possible interpretations that I can see, are: 1) The card's fee is in addition to the rental mechanism; you roll dice to calculate the fee, and also separately calculate the rent, if the property is unmortgaged. 2) The card's fee modifies the rental mechanism; you never pay normal rent, and only pay the fee (as rent) if unmortgaged. 3) The card's fee replaces the rental mechanism; you never pay normal rent, but you always pay the fee, whether mortgaged or not.
Option 1 is the only option you can go for, if you are arguing by the first two precedents, that card fees are not rent; or that rents are normal unless specified.
Essentially, you are arguing that the fee is a fare to get there, rather than a rent to stay there.
And yet, nobody is arguing for this option. Over and above the harshness of getting fined twice for a single event, there is a bigger problem.
When reaching Utilities by this card, if the property is owned and unmortgaged, the rent cannot be calculated as normal, using $4x[the dice rolled to get there], as you arguably did not roll dice to get there. The dice you rolled took you to Chance, and you were sent to the utility by a card! $4x0 would be zero rent. No other card (such as "Go back 3 spaces") can cause you to land on a utility, so it's just this card one which has this issue.
So the card must be stopping the normal rent from happening. Which leaves the other two options. Is it changing that rent to a different amount, or is it getting rid of it entirely and replacing it with a taxi-fare to get there instead?
Given that:
...I'd rule for option 2: that the payment is intended to be a rent, and that mortgages should be respected.
No, you do not have to pay. If a property is mortgaged no rent can be collected. I think that rule trumps the wording on the card. The wording on the card does in fact differ from the railroad chance card(s) or any other property chance card; this is because the rent works differently for utilities. I believe the wording "IF OWNED, throw dice and pay owner a total ten times amount thrown." was not meant to allow rent collection when mortgaged but rather to give the owner 10 times amount even if only one utility is owned (as opposed to the regular 4 times).
Actually, NO!
Yes dear reader you are not supposed to pay the rent in that chance card. Now I know that you're asking questions already but hear me out. First, let us look and understand the chance card.
"Advance token to nearest Utility. If unowned, you may buy it from the Bank. If owned, throw dice and pay owner a total ten times the amount thrown."
Now let's focus on the 3rd sentence. In the sentence focus even more on the second word. Yes the word is OWNED, and what makes an individual owned a property?
First you bought the property, you received it with the title deed. Then you are now the owner. Next!
When it isn't mortgaged of course! Because when it is mortgaged, the property is sold 50% to the bank(creditor or lender). Which means the bank has the property with the title deed until it is payed. Look at this for support of my evidence.
"A title deed is the legal document which legally confirms the ownership of a property and is filed at the Deeds Office, and it contains details of the property.
A title deed is the legal document which legally confirms the ownership of a property and is filed at the Deeds Office, and it contains details of the property. From the time that you register a mortgage bond with your bank on the property that you purchased, they keep your title deed in safe custody until such time as your home loan is fully paid.
Up to that stage they are legally entitled to keep the title deed as it effectively belongs to the bank who has loaned you the money to buy the home."
You technically have 50% loan of the property sold, therefore while the property is mortgaged. The bank had the property and title deed until you pay it.
Now how about the train chance card?
Now we need to understand the card first.
"Advance token to the nearest Railroad and pay owner twice the rental to which he/she is otherwise entitled. If Railroad is unowned, you may buy it from the Bank."
Focus on "pay owner twice the rental to which he/she is otherwise entitled"
Remember we have 4 RAILROADS and the text would describe it as pay the owner TWICE the rent on which he or she is entitled or how many railroads he or she owns. How can I prove this? I'll use an example that it based on facts and the rules in the game.
Let say: there were 3 players named a,b, and c. A owns 2 railroads and b owns also 2 railroads and c owns nothing. Now c rolled a dice and it landed on chance he received the railroad card that pays twice. Now c lands on a's railroads.
A is entitled to 2 railroads, therefore c pays 100. This part was meant to clarify on how many a person owns a railroad. To support my proof further look at the word OWNER once again. You cannot pay the owner when it is mortgaged, it isn't his/hers but the bank does.
Edit: more proof on this:
Now lastly focus on OTHERWISE ENTITLED, this means you own or the railroads you own. You can search on google otherwise entitled means so that you will understand it further. So again, the card is trying to say:
"Advance token to the nearest Railroad and pay the owner twice the rental fee to which he/she is otherwise entitled or properties that he/she has rights to (to all those railroads she/he currently have pay the rent twice). If Railroad is unowned, you may buy it from the Bank."
No. You do not have to pay anything when landing on mortgaged properties whether you landed there or a card sent you there.
It has to be un-mortgaged. Otherwise I would suggest that after you buy it mortgage it right away and get 1/2 your money back.
No; you do not pay.
From the Official Rules of Monopoly on the Hasbro web site under heading Mortgages (my emphasis):
No rent can be collected on mortgaged properties or utilities, but rent can be collected on unmortgaged properties in the same group.
To me this is unequivocal - no payment, whether or not denoted as rent, is ever collected on a property that is face down due to being mortgaged. Not carefully the wording "in the same group", and that it does not say "in the same colour group"; thus clearly indicating an applicability to railroads as well as coloured properties.
While an omission from the rules may, depending on circumstance, be regarded as an oversight, I can think of no reason why an explicit inclusion in the rules should not always be taken at face value. Clearly there is an omission about whether or not rent includes payment for landing on a Utility. However the explicit exclusion of payment for landing on a mortgaged utility is clearly an intentional inclusion - so payment is not due under this circumstance.
As the rules never make any distinction on how one lands on a square, to suppose that there is intended to be one for advancing to a Utility in consequence to drawing a Chance or Community Chest card is completely unreasonable.
Update
The claim is being made in comments that
"Your answer seems to be based on an implicit assumption that the payment demanded by the card is rent, or that when that rule says "rent" it means "rent or other payments", but it doesn't say that and neither do the rules."
I submit as counter argument this quote, again from the Official Rules of Monopoly.
Paying Rent:
When you land on property owned by another player, the owner collects rent in accordance with the list provided on the Title Deed Card.
Note the clear implication (at least), that the payments collected in consequence to landing on a property owned by another player are properly termed "rent".
Update - from the Official Tournament Guide for Monopoly, Page 7
Paying Rent on a Utility you throw the dice and land on Water Works or the Electric Company and another player owns them, don’t touch the dice. See what the total is. Multiply that number by 4 if your opponent only owns one utility, or by 10 if he/she owns both of them.
Paying Rent on a Fully Owned Property Group Suppose your opponent owns a complete color-group — for example, all three reds — with no buildings on any of them. If you land on one of the reds, you have to pay double its rent. But suppose one of the reds — e.g. Indiana Avenue — is mortgaged and you land on Illinois, it is unmortgaged. How much rent do you pay? Double, even though Indiana is mortgaged, your opponent still owns it.
Note that this Official guide explicitly refers to the amount paid for landing on a utility as rent. And the Rules otherwise clearly state that rent is not paid for landing on mortgaged property.
