When i signed my 1yr lease I was visiting Thailand for the purpose of finding a place to live before I officially moved over. The LL never asked for my visa status, only copy of passport and 2 months deposit when signing the lease contract. I was on a visa exempt at the time.
I've seen make dtv approved with just a month hotel booking (fully refundable).
It depends on your embassy too. When I applied in hcmc 3 months ago, I had a 1 year lease contract but I forgot to upload it with my application. Was approved without anyone asking for it