@Tod ********
If he is staying in a real hotel then that could be the issue. I am living in a condo. My TM30 was over a year old and filed by my landlord who sent me a photo of the receipt. I printed a copy of that photo. I have also traveled inside Thailand to Pattaya and Sisaket several times this past year.
The implicit message in my comment was also that when you hear stories like yours then you should note that information and plan to bring these things, in this case a rental contract, when you go to do your visa extension. It costs little to nothing to bring it and you have it when you need it. It is weird to me that people are always trying to find out EXACTLY what they need and at the same time resist (or complain) about bringing maybe more than they need.