Jean and Greg Winters were surprised to receive a letter one day from the neighborhood homeowners association demanding they replace their $50 Home Depot mailbox with a fancier model.

Their association in Boca Raton, like thousands of others nationwide, said it needed to maintain neighborhood standards. It even suggested a $380 Victorian-style mailbox.

But the Winters refused to make the switch. Not only does the ornate mailbox clash with their Spanish-style home, they said, the letter points to a disturbing trend: the increasingly autocratic nature of homeowners associations and their ever-broadening power over residents' daily affairs.

"The more I started to get into this, it wasn't just about a mailbox," said Jean Winters, 49, a recent law graduate from the University of Miami. "We have no certainty as to what arbitrary rules are going to be made up."

The Winterses have spent nearly two years and $5,000 battling their association in court, joining a growing number of homeowners in Florida and nationwide disenchanted with governing bodies that have come to regulate everything from house colors to a dog's weight to how to fly Old Glory.

The complaints have become so numerous that last month, Gov. Jeb Bush created a task force to study homeowners' concerns. Its first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday in Tallahassee.

Those advocating reform of associations -- which regulate an estimated 5 million Floridians and 50 million people nationwide -- say associations have gradually gained the powers of a local municipality but none of the checks and balances.

"The idea behind a homeowners association is very good," said Jan Bergemann, president of Cyber Citizens for Justice, a grass-roots group in St. Augustine leading the charge for reform. But despite the services that associations provide and their boost to property values, "you get these few people who are power hungry, and they mess up the system. Every good association is only one election away from dictatorship."

Association boards, often consisting of volunteers, oversee trash pickup and street paving, provide security officers, run community centers and perform other responsibilities traditionally reserved for local governments. They also set community rules, such as landscaping and parking limits, and often have the power to enforce liens against property when residents don't comply.

Homes with HOAs up 21%

The popularity of this lifestyle is confirmed by the explosion of residents moving to regulated communities. Since 1998, the number of homes governed by associations nationwide has increased by 21 percent, to 19.9 million, according to the Community Associations Institute in Alexandria, Va.

While Florida and other states have laws regulating associations -- such as requirements for elections, open board meetings and public records -- many states, including Florida, have no agency to enforce those laws and arbitrate disputes. As a result, courts are the main recourse for aggrieved homeowners. And lawsuits can be costly and time-consuming.

Associations "don't have to worry about constitutions, due process of law, and many don't obey regulations that are in place," said Evan McKenzie, a political science professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago and author of a book on homeowners associations. "There is no recourse for ordinary citizens. They have no place to turn. That's the key problem right now."

Conflicts are numerous in South Florida, a region known for its gated communities and residential country clubs. The complaints include secret board meetings, unilateral dues increases for board members' pet projects and arbitrary decision-making.

In Jupiter, some residents have rallied around a military veteran who defied his association and displayed an American flag on an unauthorized flagpole outside his home. After a four-year court battle, a judge this month ruled that the association could foreclose on the man's house to recover legal fees.

In suburban Boynton Beach, 16-year-old Bishy Tannous said he was forced this month to stop mowing lawns and doing landscaping for neighbors because association rules prohibit residents from running a business from home.

While lawyers and politicians say disputes have steadily increased -- Bergemann said his group fields at least 100 complaints a month -- experts say regulated communities have become an important part of local economies.

Lack of management skills

These communities began forming in the 1960s and offer shared amenities such as a clubhouse and swimming pool. Eventually, the developer hands over control to an association to maintain the shared facilities and keep peace between neighbors. But inside the communities, things don't always go smoothly.

Some homeowners say most disputes result from ignorance: Either a board is not aware of state regulations or a resident is not aware of community rules. Moreover, board members are often volunteers with scant management experience.

"It's one of the most thankless jobs out there," said Leigh Katzman, a Lauderhill-based attorney who represents various homeowners associations in Palm Beach County. "You have an obligation to enforce rules. But you're viewed as not-too-friendly when you have to go to a neighbor and say they have to change the color of their house."

That's what happened to Michele Bergman, a single mother of two in Boca Raton. This spring when she tried to paint her house a mustard yellow, her association's architectural committee told her the color was out of character with the neighborhood. She protested, pointing out that a committee member's house is painted a brighter shade of the same color.

Even after getting a majority of neighbors to sign a petition approving the mustard color, the committee told Bergman to use a different color, she said.

Bergman begrudgingly complied.

"The only reason I did this is I wanted to avoid steep legal fees that I could not afford," said Bergman, 48, a 10-year resident of the community. "An association is a hard thing to fight as an individual. They've got money, and they're willing to go to any extreme."

Reform advocates say that's why the state needs to assign an agency to mediate disputes. Such a system is set up for condominium association residents, who can file complaints with the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Some politicians say one obstacle to a state oversight agency for homeowners associations is cost. But reformers say the money could come from a yearly fee as small as $4 assessed to each homeowner.

State Sen. Ron Klein, D-Delray Beach, said he would support legislation creating such an agency.

"The model is already there with condo associations," said Klein, the Senate Democratic leader. "If you're going to have laws on the books, you should have someone in the state to look to."