The concept of using a hysteretic damper as a condition assessment device that functions immediately after a damaging earthquake is realized by making use of the residual out-of-plane deformation of links that are arranged in slit shear walls. According to the proposed inspection procedure, the maximum drift ratio experienced by the slit wall is estimated based on the number of torsionally deformed links whose dimensions are determined so that the links would exhibit notable torsional deformation at the target deformations. The adoption of a double-tapered shape for the links enables us to significantly increase the amount of out-of-plane deformation. The relationship between the dimensions and the torsional deformation of the links is established using numerical simulations. The effectiveness of the proposed condition assessment scenario is verified by using a series of cyclic loading tests for individual links and groups of links. As a hysteretic damper, the strength and stiffness of the links predicted by design equations matched well with test results. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.