Update:

I have learned that if you own and drive a vehicle in Thailand and do not have either an International Drivers permit OR a valid Thai driving licence then your insurance is INVALID.
If you have an accident the first thing that your insurance company will ask for is either of these documents. Showing just your regular farangland issued licence is not enough, your insurance is void and that is that.

That leads me onto my situation right now.

My 1 year licence ran out. I want to get a 5 year licence. (note that right now my car has no insurance as i do not have either of the required licences, if somebody steals it today its bye bye one million Bht)

I talked to the drivers licence center, they told me i need the proof of address document.
Now the process for getting this free document appears to have changed.
I was informed today by Nong Khai that i need to take the housemaster ( head name on tabien baan) with me IN PERSON to Nong Khai office.
The original tabien baan and the housemaster ID card is reqired during that visit. Now for most folks that is not a problem as in many cases the tabien is in the name of the ggod lady wife or girlfriend.
Not in my case, i live in a rented condo and the owner has told me that he will not go to Nong Khai with me (a rightly so, this is a bunch of bullshit request).
So seemingly I have a car i cannot drive, even though i spent a lot of money on it.
Immigration rules are preventing me from telling the truth about where I live.
Now i have to lie to them by using my girlfriends parents address and her dads id card and tabien baan.
The other option is an expensive trip to BKK and the wankers at the British Embassy to get an address document from them. Evidently they make no checks on the addresss you provide to them, you just scribble down your claimed address on a form and they print the document for 3000 baht or whatever!