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In the last game of Monopoly that I played, I bought both the Utilities and I mortgaged The Electric Company.

If an opponent lands on The Water Works, how much rent would be due? Would I get 10x the dice roll for owning both Utilities, or does having one mortgaged mean that I would only get 4x the dice roll?

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    The real question is, why did you buy the utilities in the first place? :-) Buying utilities explains why you're mortgaging later in the game. :-O
    – corsiKa
    Sep 28, 2012 at 15:25
  • @corsiKa - That's an interesting question...
    – ire_and_curses
    Sep 28, 2012 at 17:14
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    Bought them both at auction for slightly more than half price. Actually, I think I mortgaged the Electric Company to buy the Water Works.
    – Tom77
    Sep 28, 2012 at 21:06

2 Answers 2

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It says right on the card (emphasis mine):

if BOTH Utilities are owned, rent is 10x the amount shown on the dice

Also, from the Monopoly rules:

No rent can be collected on mortgaged properties or utilities, but rent can be collected on unmortgaged properties in the same group.

The player who mortgages property retains possession of it ...

enter image description here

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    This answer could use clarification. If you own both, but one is mortgaged, you get 10x for people landing on the unmortgaged one, but don't get anything from people landing on the mortgaged onr.
    – Neal Tibrewala
    Oct 4, 2012 at 6:09
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    @NealTibrewala, in what way is my answer not clear? "No rent can be collected on mortgaged properties or utilities, but rent can be collected on unmortgaged properties in the same group.The player who mortgages property retains possession of it". Looks like I have all bases covered. You collect rent when someone lands on an unmortgaged Utility, if if you own both (mortgages properties are still owned by the same player) you get 10x die roll. What could be added that would clarify?
    – user1873
    Oct 17, 2012 at 4:50
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    The question is asking about the unusual case of owning both, having one mortgaged, and landing on the other. Your answer provides the evidence needed to come to the right conclusion, but it doesn't actually answer the question, which could be better asked as "Does a mortgaged utility COUNT for purposes of getting the 10x dice roll on the other utility"? Even with the evidence you provide, someone could (incorrectly) argue that "even through it is still owned, it doesn't COUNT because it is mortgaged".
    – Neal Tibrewala
    Oct 17, 2012 at 8:47
  • @NealTibrewala, I "capped" the BOTH when saying the answer is on the card, and only quoted the correct answer from the card. I suppose I could bold it, or I could bold You get 10x before quoting the card, but I don't see that adding to clarity. Owned == retains possession, so I could technically drop the 2nd rule quoted as it only explains that rent is due, which the OP obviously understands from their question. If someone believes that Owned == retain possession of, but for some reason mortgaged properties shouldn't COUNT, then no amount of explanations will help them understand.
    – user1873
    Oct 17, 2012 at 10:37
  • I always like it when the comments on an answer vastly outweigh the answer itself in word count. +1 on the answer though, to me it seems the correct one.
    – Bazzz
    Oct 19, 2012 at 12:47
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If I remember correctly, it would depend on whether you're playing the American or British version of the game (I've owned both). In the British version, you would only get 4x from the unmortgaged utility (mortgaged properties of any kind do not count towards bonuses in that version), but in the American one, you would get 10x if your opponent lands on the unmortgaged utility and you own both, even if the other is mortgaged.

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    In my British version from 1995 the rules say: "Double rent cannot be collected from a Colour-Group if one Site is mortgaged. A player holding four Stations, but with one mortgaged, may only collect rent from the other three - i.e. he would collect £100 - not £200." I think this applies to the utilities as well. The South African version probably has this rule also, but I don't have it or the American version on me at the moment...
    – Barnaby
    Jan 15, 2014 at 9:15

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