This Information Paper provides best practice guidance for those involved in the planned maintenance painting works for social housing. The focus is on wooden substrates and the issues relevant to large housing stock owners such as Local Authorities (LA) and Housing Associations (HA). Planned maintenance painting activities account for one of the largest proportions of a housing stock owner's budget. To make progress towards value for money goals, without compromising customer satisfaction, consideration needs to be given to partnering efficiently with contractors and coatings manufacturers. The thinking needs to move away from the current 'lowest tender and often' maintenance to the 'spend more now and save a lot later' in the context of a situation where labour costs far outweigh the materials cost. This Information Paper presents some findings from a project funded by DTI and supported by industry and explains some of the opportunities available for adopting best practice and for getting started in partnering initiatives. The Benefits of partnering initiatives between owners of social housing, manufactures of coatings products and maintenance contractors are explained. 8 pages.